Maps are an essential element to my paintings, and I use a variety. Some are large format digital topographic scans that I can get from the USGS or the NOAA and manipulate in Photoshop to enhance their faded color or give a bit of texture. I also might add information about the birds along the map borders. Other maps are basic pre-1970 road maps that I dye with watercolor or acrylic washes and cut into quilt-like patterns. The map sets the background to the story as they mark a moment as well as a place within that moment. Maps also remind us of what we have lost either through runaway development, environmental change or simple decay.
Birds are the star of my pieces. They are the celebration of moments and places to be held dear. Memories strong enough to tease the smell of the lake or the color of the autumn leaves from our internal neuron catalog. The birds are also a lamentation, a dangerous by-product of the Anthropocene. They are a reminder we have the responsibility to protect the land, the ocean, and the animals that live here. We must realize this or one day we’ll find ourselves on the list of Lamentations.
I am Kevin D. Hammon and I was born in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. I was raised in Fort Walton and DeFuniak Springs, Florida. When people ask me where I’m from I tell them Defuniak Springs. I wasn’t born there, but my maternal Grandmother’s family (the Alford’s) are generations deep in Walton County. Defuniak is where I developed lifelong friendships and became the person I am today; genius loci of place. I attended the University of West Florida in Pensacola, Florida where he received a B.S. Degree in Computer Science with a Minor in Political Science. When I wasn’t studying, in class or working to pay for school, I was sketching. I have exhibited across the US including shows at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center in Niceville, Florida, Radius Gallery in Missoula, Montana and the Cooperstown Art Association in Cooperstown, NY. My works are also in numerous private collections. I currently reside in Le Roy, New York with my wife Alexandra and my children James and Jamie. I work at the University of Rochester.