I began this series realizing that the small, contemplative plein air image I had just painted of the roaring James River at flood stage had nothing to do with what I was truly processing. My attention throughout had been on the rushing river’s ambient, violent sounds and force. In my car I could not hear the stereo at the same volume that I clearly heard when I arrived. The hours spent beside the thrashing river’s white noise had numbed my hearing.

The river’s sound and force encouraged a ‘louder’, physically oriented painting, more graphic, material, sensory, and speculative. While representational, these recall Abstract Expressionism’s subjectivity and autographic character within the context of human produced climate. Old River, New Shore places plein air paintings done on site against studio invention counterparts to meditate on changing environments. Differences in size, method, and aesthetic suggest attitudes toward change found within individuals and culture. Using a shared subject for comparisons, I explore differing perceptions of nature regarding stability, familiarity, interiority, and agency.