SPLOTCH Paintings 2022
This series was inspired by the work of Hilma af Klint. I decided that instead of following artistic movements like I have been doing for the President Series, I wanted to delve deep within my psyche and see what came up. I wanted to free myself of any formulaic approach to painting to really just paint whatever and however I was driven by my inner voice. The only choices i made beforehand were the medium (choosing acrylic and, sometimes, house paint) and the palette. But even the palette choice was made after meditation and a little ritual I did invoking the spirits of the directions as is done in shamanic practice (West, East, North, South, Upper, and Earth). I needed the canvas to be large, to allow even more freedom to do what I pleased. So I purchased the largest duck canvas I could and hung them, unstretched, across the back wall of my studio. And I let go.
At one point I chose to tear the canvas in half to create two paintings. At another I decided to truly feel the moment by utilizing palettes made up of the colors of the year (therefore the house paint). Of course, I am aware of Jackson Pollock, but at no time did I make an aware effort to follow his methodology. I continued to stick to Hilma af Klint’s mode of operation. And I found that the result of this abstract and expressionistic behavior was something that was more enjoyable to me than anything I had ever done before.
At one point I chose to tear the canvas in half to create two paintings. At another I decided to truly feel the moment by utilizing palettes made up of the colors of the year (therefore the house paint). Of course, I am aware of Jackson Pollock, but at no time did I make an aware effort to follow his methodology. I continued to stick to Hilma af Klint’s mode of operation. And I found that the result of this abstract and expressionistic behavior was something that was more enjoyable to me than anything I had ever done before.