BE STILL
Oil on canvas, 8 inches high by 10 inches long.
Framed Dimensions are 13 inches high by 15 inches long.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I paint to relieve tension, and to understand it. My acrylic paintings begin with studies of nature - seeking quiet in plants, birds, fungi, the human form. There is a peace in just sitting with nature that is vital. We can’t be still all of the time, and inevitably, something pulls on a thread that unravels the thing into something new. My paintings are a reworking of observation infused with questions.
These recent works have taken shape in different ways. Some pieces have grown and developed themselves on the canvas, over weeks. The layers of paint are applied intuitively, and the work grows organically. Others are representations of fully formed ideas; paint is put to canvas only after plans are hatched and sketches are made. And there, the trick is in recording the vision before it is gone. Sometimes, the muse is lost, and the work sits, collecting dust. When I get lucky, the inspiration reappears. Then the painting can be finished.
Like so many other artists, recent events have pushed me into my studio and my work into new realms. Alongside the loss, there is also an uneasy sense of gain, a feeling of transition. My recent work has been about exploring these transitions, both within myself and in society at large. They are places that are uncomfortable and somehow familiar, ghastly and beautiful, organic but artificial. I see this duality everywhere. It is inescapable and seductive, and my work has sprung from it.