CHAOS AND COHERENCE
SOME OF THESE PAINTINGS were started years ago. I reached a stopping point with each of them, thinking they were done at the time, unable to appreciate their limitations or frustrated by their flaws.
Some paintings were good ideas poorly executed. Some were poor ideas. Some had no idea.
Some were too busy or spare.
Some had too little paint or not enough color.
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A PARTICULAR CHALLENGE of abstract painting is to balance spontaneity and intention.
To be authentic, imagery must surface naturally, without interference from the conscious mind — however strange or inscrutable the results may seem.
Yet a beautiful painting must also have integrity and a focus, and some relevance to viewers if it is to go beyond the strictly esoteric or ornamental. It must reveal something of the painter, and therein lies its art: we see in another’s story something of ourselves.
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I AM REVISITING a number of earlier canvases that I now view as unfinished to see if I can flesh them out or reimagine them in more meaningful ways. I need to clarify each painting’s purpose in order to complete them, returning to the source of inspiration or finding a new one.
Some of these early paintings have undergone several iterations. Some have been integrated into entirely new paintings. Each one is a learning opportunity, a problem waiting to be solved.
I’ll be posting more of these revised paintings in the coming months.
