What’s it all about?
It seems like sometimes the craft of creating a painting eclipses the content of a painting. That is, the ‘why’ becomes a little lost.
Maybe I can say that I work very intuitively on the question of why. But that doesn’t play well when you are trying to explain your work to prospective clients.
And so I am grappling, once again, with the all important question of why I paint what I paint, and what it is I am trying to communicate anyway. And of course, the entire reason for scrounging for words to explain, in their absence in many case when speaking with clients, what my paintings are about is to connect with my viewer.
No great surprise, but if I never got any positive feedback from a viewer, likely I would consider myself a failure. Why? Because the work isn’t really complete until it is pushed through the filter of each individual. I want them to feel the awe that I do by leading them through my perspective. Then, when they see something I missed, the epiphany for the viewer is often times one for me as well. A dialog, of sorts must take place between the viewer and me.
It is not always clear how far I will have to go to satisfy the itch I have. I see something along the road, I draw or photograph it, I bring it into the studio, compose the work picture, then dive into the process of painting a place my own. When I can stand back and feel a bit astonished at my own labor—this when the painting is finished.
When I see my own work, it’s the same feeling, if I have succeeded, that I feel when exploring unknown land. A stumbling upon a secret, so mysterious to me, but probably well known to others. But the fact that others do know of it in no way diminishes my delight in my fantasy of discovery. Most everything is known to someone. But to the new explorer, the rush of discovery is true.
So picture yourself, out wandering the countryside, or the city too, until you find that amazing something that just stops you in your tracks for a minute or so. That’s what my perspective is. Continuing wonder about—everything.
