These paintings are designed around “Turing Patterns”, the stable spatial patterns first proposed by British mathematician Alan Turing. These patterns form as a result of “reaction-diffusion” processes that can be modeled on the computer. Specifically, I use Photoshop to generate Turing Patterns that serve as the starting design for my abstract acrylic paintings.
My paintings are built up through a slow, deliberate process that consists of thousands of individual brushstrokes applied one at a time. I strive to create paintings where the viewer will want to keep looking, from near and afar, in different lights, always finding something new to stimulate the eye and the mind.
Artworks
Realization
61 x 61 cm
Acrylic on Dibond aluminum panel
2013
"Realization" consists of Turing patterns at two different levels of abstraction. Using Photoshop, I repeatedly blurred and sharpened an initial seed image, a process that is mathematically a kind of reaction-diffusion model (as proposed by Alan Turing) in that it causes short-range excitation and long-range inhibition of the morphogens (pixels) in the image. After equilibrium is reached, I use the resulting pattern as the starting point for the painting, which is hand-painted and comprised of thousands of individual marks of paint. "Realization" is about understanding, using metaphors of "grasping" (get a hold of an idea) and "light" (shine a light on something to provide illumination and insight).
The Inward Turn
61 x 61 cm
Acrylic on Dibond aluminum panel
2013
"The Inward Turn" is composed around a Turing Pattern designed using Photoshop. I repeatedly blurred and sharpened an initial seed image, a process that is mathematically a kind of reaction-diffusion model (as proposed by Alan Turing) in that it causes short-range excitation and long-range inhibition of the morphogens (pixels) in the image. After equilibrium is reached, I use the resulting pattern as the starting point for the painting, which is hand-painted and comprised of thousands of individual marks of paint. The painting is about introspection and the Turing patterns are colored in such a way that there is an appearance of two inward-turing curves, with color gradients used to provide a sense of depth to the painting.
Multiple Drafts
51 x 61 cm
Acrylic on panel
2012
This painting is composed around Turing patterns at three different levels of abstraction. I repeatedly blurred and sharpened an initial seed image, a process that is mathematically a kind of reaction-diffusion model in that it causes short-range excitation and long-range inhibition of the morphogens (pixels) in the image. After equilibrium is reached, I use the resulting pattern as the starting point for the painting, repeating the Turing pattern at three different scales. "Multiple Drafts" refers to the theory of consciousness proposed by philosopher Daniel Dennett, whereby there is no central Cartesian theater, but rather competing processes of thought burbling around in the mind laying down various drafts of what we experience.
