Chris Copeland                        Artwork                           My Friends          




First Dirt (2016)

18”x24” oil on canvas 

Dirt is teeming with life. It is full of insects, microorganisms, and fungi that are always living, dying, and decomposing. It is such a complex substance that scientists have failed at synthesizing it for years. Trying to describe its process and importance always leads me back to an amazing dichotomy of soil – its complexity is only matched by its simplicity; it’s dirt. In many ways, thinking about soil reminded me of painting, in that only through abstraction could one begin to describe how fertile soil transforms life. Paint, being earth, was as direct a way I could find to describe the incredible process constantly happening underneath our feet.