Out In It
new paintings and works on paper at Madrona Gallery June 8th- 22nd 2017
For the past couple years I’ve been painting these rainbow rivers/bands of color, dissecting islands and orcas to reveal rainbows of inspection, raining clouds, tears for thirst. For me, it’s about life’s diverse layers. When cutting to the core of it all, there’s a mineral core. Some call it love, God, the great mystery, some call it nothing or everything. Here I call it blood. It flows to the heart, it bleeds from the cuts and guts. I’ve noticed that people really respond to color in painting. Life is not black and white, and yet I’ve spent much time stretching this contrast in drawing. In painting, mixing all the colors together turns a murky grey, but it’s not about the separation of color, it’s about the compliment of it, the blending. When I close my eyes I don’t see colors, and it may sound corny, but I can feel color in my heart. Feels warm, welcoming, taken care of and free. I think other sensations in life are “overlooked.” My life is dominated by visual stimulation- screens, walls, art, people, puppies, movies, concerts, sunsets, instagram and so on. Being a visual artist, I want people to look at the things I make, and yet selfishly I’m doing this to try and see something new for myself. My subconscious can ignite me visually, but the motivation comes from the conscious. It’s a blessing when others get something from my art too, because let’s face it, there’s too much to look at out there, on here. When I sit with it, I’m ok with it, but I also want art to try and be more holistic. If it’s just about getting my name or style more exposed, getting more gigs, then I’m missing the point. I think that’s why collaboration has been a big part of my practice, because it’s about connecting to something outside myself. I love connecting to my inner voice, but don’t always have the words or brush stokes to fully communicate it. Don’t have to either. To sum it up, making art is my reverence to nature, the weird and wonderful, the portals of perspective, the life source, like adding a drop to the ocean, drinking from the well. If a picture can describe a thousands words, for me these paintings are for one word.
