We live bathed in the electromagnetic spectrum. It heats us, nurtures us and allows us to see. It permeates our lives. Through its power, we can differentiate color, listen to the radio, cook meals, or even explore space. My paintings show how the electromagnetic spectrum is both a natural part of our world and a powerful tool in our hands.

27 MHz and 960 MHz - 1427 MHz are color representations of frequency allocations of the United States radio spectrum.

I also use the EM spectrum to create art. In my telemeter paintings, I paint with radio waves by using remote-controlled cars to make action paintings. The paintings serve as telemeters; using paint to track where the car has been.

Radio waves are being transmitted by radio stations all around the world. We sometimes think of a radio station as being bound to its frequency and format. In reality a Fort Worth station like KLUV uses 98.7MHz to transmit its oldies programing. A station’s frequency is the carrier of the station’s signal and its format is the type of programing it is broadcasting. My paintings are visual representations of frequencies used by radio stations in the U.S. The concentric circles represent a “map” of Fort Worth and the surrounding cities. As we move north, south, east and west to different cities, the frequency is being used by different radio stations with different formats or by no one at all.

I imagine these pieces as a travelling exhibit. As they travel, the radios, still set to the same frequencies, will create a new sound based on the format of the frequencies in that area. In cases where the frequencies are not being used by any radio stations you will hear only static.