Much
of my recent work has been inspired by nature and has been created
outdoors. As such, I’m calling the body of work Groundplay.
The paintings are not objective views of photo-op, rest-stop,
snap-shot vistas. They are pieces of me, the land, and the sky
sifted and soaked with color and grit. They are explorations
of natural dynamics; time, growth, erosion, the pull of moon
on tide, the flow of river and stream, the undulation of hill
and valley, the slap of wave on shore.
In all of these works there is an
exploration and celebration of both loss and gain. Embedded in
the land are mothers, lovers, reasons to kill and the promise
of prosperity. The land is sensual in the right light, fertile
when well-fed, pleasantly suburban when manicured, depressing
when raped and ruthless when you least expect it or most deserve
it. When left to her own devices, she is awesome beyond imagination.
I’ve been hovering above as
I create, watching the cycles of birth and death inherent in
geology. These cycles are undeniable. One layer of paint suffocates
the previous one, or at least changes the expression. New truth
devours old truth. Often the residue of intentions are barely
visible through the layers of attempted discovery. The arrival
of each painting, although layered and complex, often appears
to be startlingly obvious and simple. Rivulets run from the mouth.
--Jeff Waring 07/20/06
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Jeff Waring
was born in Fall River, Massachusetts in 1963. He lives near
Philadelphia in Media, Pa with his wife Jenny and 2 daughters.
Waring studied painting at Rhode Island School of Design, earning
a BFA in 1985. He teaches art at Westtown School, in Westtown,
Pa.
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