...Enfilade and Defilade...: My history of Violence (depictions)

The larger paintings of this new project are just now underway while I wait for my trip to Jump School in Edmonton.It's still early though and I'm regularly trying to figure out its context and content. I'm not really the sort to sweat understanding my own grand vision when it comes to a project, not until its complete. As of today my plan is 6-8 large paintings which might be all landscapes, short and long form writing and photography. That's a pretty broad description, but for now it's enough.

I also often think about the larger trajectory of my "career" as a whole, and if you were to look at my figurative work from 2005, my weapons paintings of the last 2 years, and what I'm doing now, well, the visuals – the formal content and methodology – can seem pretty inconsistent. I have friends whose work changes incrementally over the years, but I've always seen my projects as stand-alone entities. Once finished I feel free to jump ship. But the issues remain consistent: The fraternities of violence, the power of myth and the archetypal quest, utopic possibilities.

So I often think of my projects in terms of a life's work, something to be seen after decades... which is the height of irony since it regularly seems impossible that I'll last more than a couple more years.