Improvisation, Intimacy, and …
I am a slow learner about people, and about myself. So I have only just realized some aspects of my art that can frustrate me: my art is very varied, and unlike that of many artists, it may not be easily recognizable (as mine).
There are several contributing factors (one being that I work in a variety of different media!), but a key factor is surely that my art is so internal, and so personal.
My artwork is improvisational. I rarely plan, and may work without an object or scene in mind. When I do start with, or incorporate drawings of external objects, these things generally morph into something very different and become part of a separate, internal, reality that I try to show you.
My work reflects my psyche as much as it does the outside world. My art integrates me with my surroundings and with the news of the world.
It reflects all the aspects of my personality and also influenced by my current mood when I work.
So it is perhaps hardly surprising that my work has both a light side and a dark side, and also places in between! The tone of my work will vary dramatically based on what is uppermost in my mind as I start a new piece. And it may change along the way…
Sometimes I am lost in the patterns and beauties of the natural world, the joy of chocolate, or the delight of a sunny walk on the beach. At this point work my may have a bright, clear, cheerful tone. At other times, I am under the influence of darker spells; fear of death and the impact of “Nature, red in tooth and claw” may dominate my work. At such times, the subject matter, colors and tone will certainly be heavier, darker, and altogether different!