Why paint trashcans?

Landscape painting is often quite serious and sincere, but it doesn’t have to be. I believe painting can be celebratory and playful, while still helping us examine our world.

Humor, play and irreverence are important parts of my work: I enjoy combing this “serious” form of art (painting) with light-hearted, goofy or mundane subject matter. And in turn, using that playfulness as a container to examine complex or difficult questions.

Trashcans - like so many ordinary objects - are funny when anthropomorphized.

Painting that addresses cultural dominance. (White anti-racist lens, anti capitalist lens). Landscape painting upholding cultural norms. On landscape painting + dominant (white) culture. Friedrich. I’m NOT equating the heroic European artist to trash! I believe in the inherent goodness of people. I just think the trash-can is a funny stand-in for ourselves, a window to help us see ourselves and our surroundings in a new way. For me this is about humor and levity, not about literal garbage. s

Read more: “How is Floral Painting Connected to Social Justice?”

- August 15th, 2024