Reina de la Costa, 22" x 30"Labelled an "abstract naturalist" by a fellow artist, Geoffrey McCormack was influenced early in his career by the trompe l'oeil painters and, later, the new photo realists. He works in series with the goal of fully exploring an idea -- both in terms of seeing common objects in a new light and in relation to the formal aspects of art-making: composition, value, color, etc. He has been working with his "String Theory Series" for more than 20 years and the concept has become an integral part of his symbolism.
Three Rivers: Rock Dance on Hunter Creek, 22" x 30"The Three Rivers series came about by a wonderful accident. Geoffrey relates, "While printing a copy of an earlier series, there were multiple printer errors which produced a rough triptych. I liked this accidental format and added it to other reference scraps pinned to my studio wall.
"Several months later, as I was thinking about the parameters for a new series, my eyes landed upon the accidental triptych. Incorporated with the stones, sticks, string and shallow space of my Greek series, the new series would refer to the rivers of Western Oregon and these waterways would be the source for forms, materials, colors and perhaps regional or universal detritus.
"When combined, these elements work on many levels: as materials and objects that give a sense of place and as forms that cast shadows describing volume and shallow space. The manmade objects set scale, time or action. For example the strings can be seen as compositional tool that delineates two dimensional space and at the same time casts a shadow describing the three dimensions of the object it falls on. They are also reference to archeological digs and an investigation over time."
Three Rivers: The Rogue, 22" x 30"
Three Rivers: Yellow Twig, 22" x 30"watercolor and fluid acrylic
With an MA in sculpture, Geoffrey has taught college courses in both two- and three-dimensional art. He has been increasingly active on the national watercolor scene over the past few years and his painting "Red Twig" – from the Three Rivers Series – was honored with the Purchase Award with Silver Star (Best in Show) at the National Watercolor Society exhibition in 2009.
Rocky Point, 22" x 30"Please visit Geoffrey's website to see more of his work and get information on his workshops.
