Beginnings #1 Painting

This series began without idea or intention. I load a large brush with black paint and gesso and move around the canvas as I arbitrarily drag, push, shake and press the brush. This disinterested play of mark making becomes the rhythm of each work. The mark making also forms structural elements in the figure/ground reversal. As I extract some of these elemental forms the content becomes apparent. At this stage, I’m adding and subtracting while preserving the integrity of the original marks. Any symbolism is unintentional as is the chronological order in the series. The order and the titles of the works were decided on after each of the nine pieces in the series was complete. I wanted this work to speak to a global art community. so I limited my palette to blacks, whites and greys.The different meanings and symbolisms in colors are inconsistent among cultures These differences are less relevant with an achromatic scale. The palette also helps unify this series despite the inconsistent painting styles that were dictated by the original mark making.