"The Searcher"

"Obsessed by a fairy tale, we spend our lives searching for a magic

 door and a lost kingdom of peace."~Eugene O'Neill

What is invisible is intriguing. I am taken with dreaming of other places, other realities, while at the same time remaining grounded. If we do not strive to imagine what lies beyond the door, we may become stagnant and complacent. If we take steps to open and step through the door, or search for other doors, we grow and evolve. 

I suppose this is why ephemeral and unfinished narratives permeate my work. Who wants answers? I cannot presume to know them, but have always wanted to ask questions in my paintings. "The Searcher", oil on canvas, 60"x40", is another painting that invites the viewer to wonder what is happening within the piece, and more importantly, why?

The largest painting I can fit in my studio (it has low ceilings) is 60 inches. Anything taller and I have to find another room in which to paint. Thus I was able to fit this 5 foot painting into my studio and took turns sitting to paint it in my studio chair as well as on the floor. 

The paint towers on my palette continue 

to get taller...

'The Searcher' took about 3 weeks of full days of painting to complete. I took photographs of the piece throughout the process. It think it is good to document the arc of creation as it happens, so that you can share it with others and also keep it as a part of your records and to see how you develop as an artist. 

Recently I saw the film "The Devil And Daniel Johnston". It follows Daniel Johnston through his adolescence and up through his struggles with manic depression, fame and creativity. I was deeply moved by this film. I alternately wanted to hug Daniel and pick up my brush and paint. 

Also, I have begun reading a book about Rainer Maria Rilke's time in Switzerland...it focuses on a few years of his life through the war, his travels and search for creative solitude as his struggles to grapple with the world at large. Both of these artists exemplify what it is to be a creative person making their way through the world through their art..

Painting is something that takes place among the colors, and one has to leave them alone completely, so that they can settle the matter among themselves. Their intercourse: this is the whole of painting. Whoever meddles, arranges, injects his human deliberation, his wit, his advocacy, his intellectual agility in any way, is already disturbing and clouding their activity.

~Rainer Maria Rilke

Individuals who are driven to make art are, for the most part, a very sensitive lot. We feel intensely. Oftentimes our work reflects how we have stepped out into the world and gathered reference, keeping it safely in our hearts and minds for future output into paintings, prose, sculpture. 

After all, the heart is the brightest star of all.. 

"We are so lightly here. It is in love we are made. 

In love we disappear."~Leonard Cohen