Todd Mires

I'm an abstract painter from Spokane, WA.

Painting serves to satisfy my compulsion for self-expression and escape from the world. The clock strikes midnight and I'm pulled back into the studio. I always paint late in the evening/early morning when the hum and buzz of the world has quieted.

All my work is titled by the date it was finished. I do this to make my work a chronological record and representation of my emotional state and to avoid pushing a personal meaning of each piece on the viewer. I'd rather the viewer derive their own meaning, feeling, and significance.

I approach painting from a non-objective standpoint. Painting is more a process of searching for a feeling than achieving a predetermined aesthetic.

I try to balance spontaneity and restraint—let things flow and evolve, while simultaneously trusting my judgement to know when to stop. I paint organically, non-linear and devoid of a plan for the outcome. While painting there’s a feeling of digging and searching for significance to reveal itself. My goal is to capture the significance at just the right moment, which is often the greatest challenge.

Some of my paintings resemble landscapes, nature, space or organic material, but I always approach a piece from a ...