MIGRATION

FEBRUARY - MARCH 2026

JOHN NATSOULAS GALLERY, DAVIS, CA

This body of work came from a place of deep love. As with most of my work, these paintings are the result of a confluence of several, sometimes conflicting, feelings. My child had just left home for college. A trip to the Olympic National Forest with a childhood friend had me both time traveling with her, and space exploration in the alien green on green on green rainforest. I had just exited nearly five years of small business ownership. People that I love are afraid to be in this country. When in doubt, sit with trees. 

I’ve always felt we can learn most of what we need by paying close attention to the natural world. For the most part, it taught and reminded me that all things move in cycles. The seasons dictate much of the movement of animals, and we are a kind of animal. Our seasons stretch over the course of a life, and those too dictate our movement. The pain and pride of ushering a child gently from the nest not knowing where and how far they will venture is a natural thing. It arrives at a certain season of life and can’t be fought against. The world is calling, and I must go, as they say.

Birds seemed apropos considering the empty nest, but the urge to move when needs must isn’t exclusive to them. Elephants, butterflies, and whales, among many other species, all migrate for survival. Including humans. The urge toward safety and away from threat is the most fundamental natural instinct we have. The painting, “Course Correction” is intended to anthropomorphize the inherent instinct in all creatures, human and otherwise, to navigate toward a more stable existence. A chronograph, a sundial, and an astrolabe signify the tools of navigation we all possess. The figures work as representations of our inner space-time guides, helping us listen to the call when it comes, to the change in the seasons of our lives.