Another crack at an artist’s statement because someone shot me an email today and asked me to apply for an exhibit. Apply? Oh well, at least there’s no fee. I’ve procrastinated on this for 40 minutes, so that means it must mean something to me. Ok. Here goes.
I tend to start each painting from a single impression. This could be a desire to explore a particular set of geometric relationships and colors. It could be an odd congruity popping into my mind that comes from having been raised with heavy doses of both Catholic iconography and 1970’s advertising. But, like a joke igniting a conversation with a stranger, with concentration and time each piece expands on its founding premise to form a relationship. In each I feel that the paint and I together hash out a particular idea, mapping its depth and breadth and discovering the strange creatures that live in its terrain.
Painting in watercolor, primarily employing a wet-on-wet technique, forces me to relinquish a certain measure of control over each painting’s results. I bring my ideas to the composition and hopefully the paint dries in a manner that agrees with me. It feels a bit like making a deal with the devil when things work out in a pleasing manner. Often after I’ve created a solid bed of color by bleeding paint into controlled shapes on the paper, I will work ink or graphite into the composition. This brings more depth, texture and heat into the finished painting.
..ok, that’s enough self talk for one day.
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