Shifting Reality

I try to work elements of random events as well as a transcendent reality into my method of painting using a combination of chance, intuition, and rational decisions, intentionally obscuring parts of the painting to allow room for interpretation. I begin primarily with chance arrangements of shapes and colors, then continue with intuitive decisions in the application of transparent, translucent, and opaque layers. Near the end, I study the painting, trying to find a sense of both logic and mystery. I then add and subtract elements in an attempt to reconcile conflicts in the painting. In the end, there are still conflicts and uncertainty - things we see but do not know we see or do not understand, but they exist only in the state of a particular mind at a particular moment.

The painting does not necessarily mean what I think it means. If the painting is successful, the mind of the viewer will be able to interpret uncertainties, resolving them in the creation of a mental image of the painting, an image that will not only transcend but will become the painting. The viewer is an artist, creating a conceptual work based on a view of the physical image. The painting has a different meaning for each person that looks at it. It is a metaphysical force, which only begins as a physical object. An artwork reflects our physical nature but also builds upon it, suggesting an unknown dimension of reality in which we play a continually changing part. The art process is an embellishment of our existence, a metaphor for life that is more than our physical presence in the world.

Drink Small plays Utopia on Saturday