A friend asked me if I painted totally intuitively or if I had a plan and the answer was yes, and yes. What I mean by that is, I paint within a framework and then let the intuitive nature of the piece evolve, so I do both. When I first started just painting on the fly, I made a mess, not a pretty mess, and wasted a ridiculous amount of paint. That led me to rethink the process and consider how I could adapt my practice to still explore the intuition, but within more of a set framework, and I love this process. 


I had in mind three pieces of a framework for this piece, the color palette, the loose brush strokes and runs, and I wanted to sketch myself looking in the mirror. Past that, I was open to where my spirit would take me and where the images would as well. At first, it was simply fun to sketch, not a pretty attempt, but to capture the face quickly felt solid and done. I then began to reflect on my colors, and rather than force a mood, allowed the colors and line to influence the mood. 



What occurred to me as the main figure evolved in comparison to the ballerina was that there was a juxtaposition between the concept of beauty, and how that might play out to someone struggling with their inner self. The expression can be taken in a number of ways, and I leave that for the viewer to decide. Ultimately, the dialogue of emotion and mood compared with the looseness of the line and color work to convey or move the viewer. Regardless of direction, I am totally pleased with the idea that pretty is not what I aimed for. 




This piece is 4 feet by 4 feet and is filled with many details that can't be seen digitally. If you are local and head out to Artwalk o the 14th, stop by Art(ology) and you can see it there, in all its beauty ;)