I love surface complexity. One of the ways I can accomplish this is to develop layers with different degrees of visibility created by overlapping and the use of transparent and opaque paint. My work is intimate in scale and process. I think smaller works encourage the viewer to move closer and take a good look. If there appears to be more than one level of information, it draws the viewer in.
In the past four years I am painting less with a brush and using other materials and my hands to create compositions. The more I can touch the work and the materials, the more satisfaction I gain from the engagement. Straight painting has lost its appeal. I need the feedback from my fingertips. I am attracted to sensuous materials- I was called a hedonist by a friend! I am most comfortable when I can hold a canvas or board in my hand and work on it. I do have an easel, but it is difficult to apply papers, photo transfers and other ephemera on a vertical surface attached to something with wobbly legs!
In my last body of work -Remnants- photo transfers were used to create the complexity of layers of wallpaper that I was attracted to when friends began to remodel old homes. Some painting was included to draw the compositions together.
My new work begins with photo transfers that are eventually obliterated with new information added by painting and collaging. In my next post I will examine why I am working in this way.
1 comment:
I work in much the same way as you Margaret, however, I start with paint and I build texture and depth using paper, ink, chalk, pastels, image transfers, text, found objects, anything goes. Like you, I rarely use just paint anymore. I find this way of working so much more satisfying.
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