In the past, all but one of the paintings on this site (Tree Form Ablaze) have started out as a small-scale drawing on paper.
These more recent pieces are the result of a change in my process. The paintings still begin with a drawing, but now it is a free and spontaneous sketch directly on the canvas that is nothing more than marks and gestures that do not define a subject, but simply fill the panel or canvas without any intention other than occupying that space. One could do it blindfolded and have the same result...a variety of linear elements, random accidental shapes, and gestures, all meaningless to anyone including me.
Now, the painting process becomes a matter of creating order out of chaos, producing something from nothing, inventing. I spend the rest of the time with each painting in a struggle to follow it wherever it leads. Occasionally it leads nowhere, but it can also lead to more useful or interesting things; things which are slowly revealed, but only with lots of looking; trial-and-error; analysis; false starts; decisions about what to keep and what to eliminate; about color, emphasis, composition, balance, and even meaning.
2023
24” x 24”
Acrylic and artist's pastel on handmade Nepalese Lokta paper collage on birch panel.
2020
43” x 38” x 2”
Acrylic on canvas
SOLD
