Philosophy

“Beautiful details of the everyday are inspirational to me. When I look at the world, I see beautiful things all around me, in every setting. I once used a mountain lion as a subject for a handrail decoration. The mountain lion is often depicted in painting and sculpture in an angry, snarling posture, because that is quite dramatic. Unfortunately, it’s also become quite cliché. I found a wonderful photo of a mountain lion simply relaxed, taking a snooze. It was fantastic, and I had to make it! I found a photo of a weasel, stretching precariously far from his perch on a branch to grab and eat some berries. How many people know that weasels even eat berries? It was a perfect subject! The Missouri Conservationist ran a photo of a Red-tailed Hawk on its cover. The hawk was perched on a branch, shoulders relaxed so its wings were just barely hanging down. Its left foot had one talon turned under, just a tiny, minor misstep, but it was a detail that’s rarely represented in art. It’s also the kind of detail that any viewer can instantly relate to, on both conscious and unconscious levels. We all misplace a foot once in a while, stub a toe, take a nap, reach out a little bit farther than we should. So when we see those things in an artist’s subject, we can imagine ourselves in that subjects place. We see a little bit of the life of that hawk, that mountain lion, that weasel.”