"The most important
thing to me is the work process. I look within for my
own true response to what’s in front of me as I work.
What knocks me out graphically, spiritually. I try not
to be influenced by market, by other opinions or by other
artist’s styles. Yes, there are artists I love and
admire who inspire and nourish me: Rothko, Sargent, Bonnard,
Caillebotte, Egon Schiele, Van Gogh, among others. I
absorb it, then filter what comes out through my own eye, soul
and hand.
I remain
aware of the demands of drawing, color, design and
composition, but am always ready to respond to and accept the
wonderful accidents that occur along the way: Wow, look at
that blue! How did that happen? Did I do that?
There is magic in the process but only if I’m true and
steadfast.
I’m not
talking abut “self-expression” here. Good art is not the
product of an effort solely to “express” outrage, anger, joy
or love. Art is about illumination, seeing in a new way
(will a cypress ever look the same after Van Gogh?).
What excites me about the arrangement of the planes of this
face, the way these forms fit together, the way those colors
vibrate? If I can’t get excited about these things, why
would I bother? Art is a lot of WORK!
These
things guide me. Does my work live up to my best
intentions? Almost never. But the process, the search,
the obedience to the principles design and drawing, the
acceptance of what happens along the way, are hugely
satisfying. And every once in awhile, often enough, something
works! A line, a color, a brushstroke! That is pure joy."
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