The Painting Process

 

A painting begins with a feeling which can come at anytime. In that moment I try to capture the feeling with an image, often scribbling on a napkin, sticky note or whatever piece of paper is nearby.  My drawings tend to start off as stick figures! I manipulate the images until one resonates with the feeling, the aha moment.  I then spend time refining and redrawing the image at a larger scale and finally at full scale on the canvas.

I want the paintings to be flat and bold without texture. To do this with acrylic paint, it is thinned out and applied in very thin layers. To finally achieve an opque and solid look, colours require many layers making for a very slow process to complete each piece. From beginning to end, a piece can take from about 100 to 300 hours depending on the size.

No Names

Although often pushed, it was very important for me to not name the paintings.   The images come from a place of positive energy. I am always overwhelmed when someone connects to an image. For me, they are connecting to that place which exists all around us. They are simply acting as a conduit.  I feel it is unfair to add a name as it would influence the interpretation. Each connection is unique and the same piece can elicit a different message, meaning or interpretation for each person.