“Temples and Cathedrals” is an on-going series of large-scale mixed-media drawings, utilizing the ‘wax resist’ technique. Executed on paper, these black and white works use wax as a resist for subsequent ink washes, which are then further developed in charcoal, conte and nu-pastel.
‘Wax resist’ is a powerful way of working, perfect for large-scale images. The technique defies the traditional boundaries between drawing and painting, because it combines both wet and dry materials. It is capable of great precision and control, as well as ‘controlled accidents’, such as splatters, drips, and more expressive automatic responses.
The works in “Temples and Cathedrals” attempt to capture the magisterial quality of these sacred spaces. Whether walking through the ruins of the Doric temples at Paestum or Salinunte, or entering one of the great European Gothic cathedrals, we sense immediately the importance of these structures through their heroic scale, commanding spaces and attention to light.
The drawings of Greek temples not only capture the mesmerizing play of light on the rows of columns, but speak to our fascination with ruins; the evocative quality of things that survive only as fragments and that struggle for their survival right before our eyes.
In the drawings of Gothic cathedrals, I wanted to realize the richness of both the interiors and exteriors of these massive structures; the rich ornamentation of the facades, with their stained-glass windows and gargoyles, and the breath-taking quality of the soaring interiors, as one first walks in and looks up.
These two subjects are united because not only were the religious beliefs of the Pagans gradually transformed into Christian terms, but the marbles themselves were taken from the temples and recycled for use in the cathedrals.