This series of paintings was inspired by a return to nature prompted by the pandemic and the wanderlust that ensued in its wake. A drive from dusk to dawn in the summer of 2023 through the stormy flatlands of North Texas, moonlit vistas of Santa Fe, and winding Rocky Mountain roads of Colorado was pivotal. The chill in the air, worn surfaces of rocks, sounds of rushing water, and grit of the sand as I slid down steep mountain paths heightened my attunement to the physical experience of being in a place.

The trip prompted new thinking about the materiality and act of painting as well as a growing desire to reconnect with nature and the full range of our senses in a digital age. The process of pushing forms together to create low reliefs of rocky cliffs and dripping paint through crevasses recalls the physical forces that shaped the lines and shapes I encountered on the trip—mountains formed from the collision of tectonic plates and melting snow streaming down rocky paths. The mix of rocks, sand, sawdust, paint, and other materials convey the textural experience of each place and add dimension to elements in the foreground. Through the interplay of representation, tactile experience, and simulacra this body of work reflects on various ways of knowing, experiencing, and engaging with the natural world.