Collision of Paint #8 Print

After spending the last decade or so immersed in the world of 3-D art, I felt compelled to express myself in a different medium. I heard all of the usual voices in my head and ignored them all. I came up with a plan and started setting down the limits I would impose on this new mode of expression: no brushes or fancy canvases. I built wood panels and used industrial enamel paint (which only comes in 7 colors). My only tool is a plasterer's trowel. I have lots of painter friends so I knew enough to be afraid of "mud" and I have found that a solid position to work from. Using multiple layers and allowing them to dry between coats allows me to keep the mud at bay. Oh the feeling of a big panel and lots of paint! It demands fast and serious painting. That fine line between where the painting comes to me, and where I manipulate the painting, is quick and fleeting, like the memory of a long ago lover. These paintings pull me in so tight I can feel every breath and then, like a fleeting dream, they are gone. Time to stop. It is all inspiration and intuition; the second I think about it, it is gone. Then it is time to clean up the paint and move on. I love abstract, and these paintings are allowing me a voice to express that, in a way not possible with steel. As I step back and look as the first series of paintings moves towards completion, I see the limits bouncing off of each other and I feel an awe and freedom that make the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I do know there is not much to think about; I have learned that paintings just need to be painted, and to be willing, time and time again, to walk past all of the "impossibles." To allow this voice to speak is an amazing gift. I am humbled.