The idea of mixing light, form, and paint was born both out of frustration and desire. Frustration with contemporary painting in general, which seems to me somewhat stagnant, and a longtime desire to mix light and paint in a way that could bring out qualities in a painting hitherto dormant.

I began lighting my paintings from behind and in front while playing with the formal (by which I mean the physical) qualities of canvas - namely the fact that it need not always be stretched on a frame in the form of a rectangle, but can also act as a stiff fabric to be sculpted. Putting all of these elements into play at the same time yields an almost unending array of possibilities that I am only just beginning to explore.

The artist's manipulation of light in a painting has always been an important theme in the history of art. Baroque painters such as Caravaggio and Rubens are characterized by the chiaroscuro technique (dramatic contrasts between light and dark) used to dramatize their subjects. Impressionist painters such as Monet and Pissaro are known for capturing the essence of their subject through their expert understanding of and ability to paint light. If there's anything I'm trying to do, other than create work that is aesthetically compelling, it is to perhaps offer a new variation on this classic theme of how artists use light in painting.