Toivo Painting

ARTISTS STATEMENT My art is either non-objective or contains an image of some sort. I feel that I am a painter who is searching. Searching for new metaphors (As my mentor Knox Martin. would continually talk about). I explore different ways to move the paint across the canvas. I use bright colors juxtaposed with yellow, gold or white. The paint swirls throughout the canvas. Whether the image is discernible or not I always try to elicit strong feelings from my paintings. I always make the painting flat, without perspective, so that live metaphors can be created. Therefore, there should be large shapes and brushstrokes on the top of the painting and small shapes and brushstrokes on the bottom of the painting. I try to incorporate what used to be called “The Thing” by some painters. Which is a hidden geometry in the shapes of the images. For example, using the “Dutch grid” or the “rolling square rectangle” or the “interrupted spiral” before I start the painting. These grids give a hidden energy and geometry to the painting that is unseen but felt by the spectator. Somehow, these grids keep the painting fresh and alive.