Artist Statement
“I think we’re often attracted to the things we like for reasons we might not comprehend; beyond a superficial attraction of the thing itself, if we listen, a quieter ‘something’ below the surface calls out and absorbs us more intensely. What is the basis for our motivations, what guides our attractions? Great art interacts with us on many levels.

In Amplification, a cursory glance immediately makes the viewer aware of the warm red colors of a sunset, or a familiar range of mountaintops. But why paint this particular mountain and not the next one over? A longer gaze reveals distinct wedges of sunlight, the shapes of which reinforce the expression of the day growing and intensifying and broadcasting, like a trumpet; the cascade of late afternoon light from the sun is reinforced by the painting’s structure.

These concurrences begin, albeit wordlessly, to uncover a bit more of what guides us. Art provides a unique level of communication, different from other modes. From amplified sunsets to hushed moonrises, we see ourselves mirrored in the expressions of the landscape.”
-- Eric Merrell