On Painting 11/28/2006

 

 

"When I began painting--for no other reason than to paint--after having expressed myself for years in drawings and sketches in my journals, I was reminded of the joys of discovery. My mindset shifted, concepts twisted, and the schemas of my work overlapped. I thought about the differences between painting and drawing rather than the similarities. I found that paint was fluid and could cover a larger area in less time compared to graphite or charcoal.  Although that might seem obvious, this realization caused a natural shift in how I viewed my work. My mind was opened to bigger ideas and my drawings suddenly had a larger, colorful world to live in. I forced myself to work small first. I used materials that were inexpensive. I never finished paintings in one sitting. Usually large stretches of time passed between starting a painting, working on it the next time, and finishing it, as I had no deadline. No one was looking over my back telling me how to do a painting or what it should be. Each painting I start is a puzzle with different solutions and possibilities to explore and express.

 

Although the painting process varies from artist to artist, my process is truthful to my life and its schedules. I never wanted to feel like creating my paintings was a chore nor did I want my interest in them to self-destruct. I feared that forcing my painting might cause the process to break down. Instead, I find that my desire to make colored versions of my sketches and simply paint for the sake of painting provides adequate tension to inspire, not force, my work. So, for me, painting is an open road I can travel on, unhindered by a self-destruct mentality.

 

My approach to my art work is always developing. Some of my general ideas about painting have existed for years, but I just haven't had time to conceptualize them. However, one concept I have found time for involves exploring the relationship I see between music and my painting. If I could trade my knowledge of visual art for a knowledge of audio art, I would. Music is always my salvation or muse in times of struggle--I'm very intrigued with music's multilayered expression and its ability to literally resonate with the vibrancy of life. Recently, I have been trying to control and experiment with color so that it coincides with the flow of different music to reflect a unique and modern image of vitality. In this way, I’m not trying to solve life’s big problems but simply striving to channel the emotions of music into a visual medium. I feel that this concept is most successfully expressed in my larger-scale works that have a simple composition and bright color schemes. At the same time, I want to paint smaller-scale work with more complex compositions that incorporate similar color schemes and some of the imagery from my drawings and sketches."