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Leroy Miranda Jr. – Artist Statement


I approach my work with spontaneity, quickness, and—when I
chance upon it—wit. The emotion or atmosphere of the day influences the work, and
I consider the images that result a story of myself. Am I telling the same
story over and over? Am I telling new stories? I have not figured it out
exactly. What I know, for now, is that the works are both simply and not so
simply works of myself, meaningless and meaningful as any emotion can be when
rendered as an image.

My process often begins with some familiar image, with a way
for me to warm up to the page. I find myself coming back again and again to the
image of a shrimp, in part because the image bears sentiment, a “meaning” that
has lingered. However, if pressed to express that meaning in words—or even the
meaning’s origin—I could do nothing but point back to the image. The shrimp are
a trope, a touchstone, a familiar grip from which my work can expand. And,
because my process is often very fast, I am painting my way through a vast
number of emotional landscapes. At the end of a day, I can sift through the
pile of images, swift as a river, and see what catches my eye. But it is the
subconscious mind that is in control; it is the subconscious mind that has
recorded and understood everything I have done in my life. Vigilant for a
glimpse of meaning, this process of selection is a bit like panning for gold;
the process is rote—the constant sifting and sorting through the mud—but I
might uncover something that shines.

This fluidity, this flow, is essential to my work—and the
mediums I choose to employ are derivative of that fluid nature. Paint is one,
though there are many others. I can press on charcoal, ink, motor oil, dirt,
blood, or urine—anything that will readily flow—and, through experimentation,
produce new colors, new images. These mediums help to keep me astray from
convention, which is where I’d like to be. When one is astray, he is situated
on the outside convention, which allows him to view the inside as well—though,
admittedly, from a different perspective. Sometimes I like the view inside and
sometimes I like the view outside, but it is when I feel astray that I can
allow my attention, my perspective to drift.

When I begin a new work, I begin with the medium. Some
artists collect images—and I do reference photographs on occasion—though more
often than not, I do not know what will emerge.