I remember elementary school as a first or second grader. When the class became unruly we were made to put our heads on our desks between folded arms. This was intended to be a time out or a punishment. I enjoyed these minutes for I had discovered the years had carved layers of scratches and marks into the desk. For me these morphed into many images. Like early man creating images from the constellations in the sky. I became adept at seeing things and creating stories about them. Later, a naturalist aunt introduced me to the beauty of bugs wings,sea shells,dew on grass and so on. Not just content to admire the larger beauty of the seascape, the sunset or the lovely figure, to this day I enjoy the cracks in the sidewalk, the odd bit of rust, the scratches on a truck door and so on. It is with this appreciation I approach my canvas and work what is referred to as abstracts.
The odd bit of rust,isolated and resized, painted with exacting accuracy would be a lovely image. But real or not, it would appear to be an abstract.
Nature informs me. The process of interacting textural layers brings memories of moss, rocks. Painting for me is a journey of the mind; an exploration of personal memories, life experiences and spirituality.
Each painting is a new experience for me, a give and take between experimentation and understanding of design principles of color, texture, form, line, rhythm, pattern and balance is achieved in a subliminal fashion allowing each layer to speak and illicit a response.
My work is mixed media , highly textural painted using mostly acrylic, though currently I am working to add digital paintings. and pieces of broken fused glass.
I start with some underlying textural materials with a general direction in mind. But , because I use the sun to rapid dry the underlayment it causes some interesting and unpredictable changes. When I begin to apply the actual first layer of paint.. it is my emotional mood at the moment which determines the starting colors. These interact with the textures presenting a new base. Then I add more textures... on and on. the work is built over days and my moods change. Each approach to the canvas is as new. I enjoy this way of painting as process. .. so I guess it makes a life of its own and I just help it a bit. It is like having a conversation. I begin, then the sun speaks then I respond and the texture speaks then I respond and the paint speaks....and so on
A dialogue with the unconscious or with hidden chemical processes becomes much more fun for me than is painting a specific thing.