I used multiple, thick layers of texture gels, including coarse pumice, sand, and glass beads, substances that have their own connections and symbolisms relevant to the piece. Within the swirls and scrapes of the textured surface, I tried to leave strokes that might elicit various images, similar to the effect of seeing images among the clouds, but these are not light, airy, figures. Some images were placed deliberately, while others seemed to produce themselves during the process.
I used colors that to me represent the ash, dirt, rusted metal, and such that was "Ground Zero" in the days following the collapse of the WTC, as well as the Pentagon and the fields of my home State of Pennsylvania. The spatters of very bright crimson/red represent the spilled blood of the victims. I mixed some lighter fluid and diesel fuel into the paint before applying it to the canvas to represent the jet fuel that was essentially the weapon used by the terrorists, and to give the painting a slight petroleum odor.
On top of this ground, I placed the roughened, slightly stylized image of a set of American Airlines Flight Attendant wings, in a position to convey a sense of falling and unrest, while occupying only a very small portion of the format. I again spattered these with "blood".
"Grounded at Zero" is a 9-11 tribute piece, remembering the 25 flight attendants and 8 pilots were murdered in the line of duty on September 11th, 2001, among the more than 3000 others lost in that heinous massacre.
Never Forget!