Artist Statement for Paintings
As an artist, I apply the colored pigment onto the
surface out of a necessity to transfer an internal emotion into
an external form. Color is my language. It speaks to me. I lay
it down in a dance with the surface and watch it take shape and
form in its own time. The objective is to use color as an agent
to define formation, texture, shape and line as an expression.
I am merely a conduit for the pigment and unable
to walk away from its urgency and immediacy requiring my complete
attention. It is a dance between me and the surface hearing only
its music which compels me to create what never existed before.
As I work, I see connections, images, signs and formations as
the pigment moves, drips, bubbles, flows and travels along the
confines of the surface. I often manipulate the magic by rotating
the canvas or using instruments to create an effect. The work
becomes a manifestation of my spiritual vibration used as an expression
of my compelling artistic need to communicate.
My work is reliant upon the historical context and
techniques of abstraction as a backdrop for expansion. Jackson
Pollock and the abstract expressionist movement laid a foundation
for its development. I create work within the genres of abstract
expressionism, action painting and Colour Field. Like Pollock,
I prefer the floor to the easel; although I use both. I begin
with an underlying painting then add multiple layers of brushstrokes,
using spoons, paint stirrers, turkey basters, forks, drips, throwing,
or swirling liquid pigment using a gloved-hand. I use my hand
to push, pull and create thick vs. thin, narrow or wide lines
of varied colored pigment, never relinquishing control.
Moving the fluid pigment against the raw surface
creates the magic. I move around the canvas as I work. I take
pleasure in watching the beads of paint roll, the thick globs
drip and the brush strokes widen. The great joy in the work I
do is watching an image transform. I then watch it take shape
and design according to its own path and direction. I mix color
on and off the surface, using spatial ambiguity, gestural strokes
and madness to push each work to new boundaries. I do not accept
the first level of imagery. I continue to add layer upon layer
until the canvas speaks to me, signaling dismissal that my work
is done.
My paintings are fluid, they move, dance and transform
first into what I see, and later into what the observer sees.
The imagery is different for each viewer. The final product results
from my dance steps with the paint set against the surface. The
work transmits color, form, texture and density rendering new
discoveries with each viewing.
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