Koger Center For the Arts Columbia SC January-February 2023

Process Abandon

“A poem is never finished, only abandoned.”

Paul Valery

  This group of paintings focus on the painting process. Composition, texture and value become the subject matter. I’ve wanted to do large abstract non representational pieces where the viewer can interpret the paintings rather than the artist dictate their experience. This departure from the animal portraiture I’ve done in the past is refreshing to me. Incorporating the two has been both frustrating and rewarding.                    

   Painting this way is interesting to me because the end result changes from day to day. The final image is not known to me. There are no blueprints to work on top of and no animals to envelope the canvas. Instead, thick brush strokes create linear texture and wheat pasted prints demand attention from the rest of the canvas. The images shown here that serve as a subject are merely vehicles for the piece.

  My work has continually changed over the years. This recent change is a return to early form as well as a new direction. Every new piece builds on the last while exposing something new. This group of paintings are the most recent examples of an ongoing process of layering looking and leaving.