Moving Forward: Connections and Conversations
I started this series of paintings in 2023. That was a challenging year that offered many lessons. Both that year and the one to follow brought a multitude of changes, and as I was painting through these newfound perspectives, I was noticing how the process of painting might provide even more insight. As always, I am seeking a deeper understanding of life through the process, as well as taking refuge in the act of creating it.
The show's title, Moving Forward: Connections and Conversations encapsulates the process of painting as I understand it. I see this process as a dialogue between the act of painting, myself, and the eventual viewer. I like how painting abstractly can reveal what it's about while you are working. I also like how it feels to not know where the painting will take you until it's finished. There is an excitement about what it can show you, and then how that might connect with others. It's a language all its own.
Watercolor challenges me to work relatively quickly and decisively, and then it forces me to pause and reflect while the paint dries. The work then becomes a layering process, while striving to maintain continuity between pauses. I often work on (parts of) 5 or 6 paintings at a time. When I paint, my goal is to stay in the moment reacting to the materials and what's happening on the paper in front of me. I might start with a general idea of where I'm going with a painting, but when the first marks or shapes are on the paper, it becomes about reacting to what's there. If the paintings feel right to me on an intuitive level, then maybe they will communicate to others as well.