Evolutions

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been working on using some new medium and grounds. In particular ink on watercolor canvas and watercolor board. I am finding returning to watermedia a very healing practice. And I am excited about using mediums and grounds that allow for work that is more permanent and archival without the specific care and maintenance that comes with works on paper.

There is, of course, some limitations and challenges that come with working with ink, as there are limitations and challenges to every medium. I am experimenting now with how to work with those challenges, so that I may begin to produce quality work for everyone. I have posted one of my recent experiments with ink on watercolor board. This particular piece was inspired solely by meditating on the element of water. I used no visual reference to execute the painting. It is made by layering thin washes of color (prussian blue, marine blue, and flame orange)over each other and finishing with opaque white in areas.

Recent research has led me to utilizing more meditative states while painting, with the hope of tapping into the source of my creative energies. Nature, mythology, spirituality and science are still strong influences on my work. It seems that my research is drawing me in to a place where all of these influences intersect. It is part of the reason I have labeled myself an "Interstitial Artist". Working within the interstices of genres and subjects, to me, seems to be the most direct and natural area to tap into creatively. Unfortunately, it is a challenging place to work, because so much of our existence and knowledge of reality is based on division, labeling and separation of ideas and subjects into their own little units. This feels unnatural to me, and yet, I must actively work against the conditioning of my mind to separate and classify.

Over the next months I will be actively working at practicing this art of connection or art of opening. I will share with you my progress and discoveries along the journey. I will, also continue to share with you my work. I am still working on the series of paintings entitled From Beyond the Ninth Wave based on the gods and goddesses from Irish Mythology and other pieces that inspiration squeezes out of me.

Thanks for your interest in the journey!