Zooplankton Series

Primarily my work investigates figure/ground relationships and attempts to extend the idea beyond the surface of the canvas plane. Currently I have been investigating water environments as subject matter. The paintings submitted are from a series of Zooplankton photographed by scientists using microscope cameras. The translucent nature of zooplankton and their habitat as a visual investigation is fascinating, as transparency confuses the figure and ground. The backgrounds of the photographs are often artificial and vary by the scientists’ choices for display. This allows me to create a buildup of color layers to simulate the ground followed by the layers of translucence that are typical of the zooplankton.