The Beginning

I painted this diptych quickly in a large, high-ceilinged studio, alongside eight other artists. Large format. Open theme. Two canvases side by side on the wall, with a small graphite sketch and studies of blues prepared beforehand, I begin. Restless and receptive. I first cover the canvases with dark colors—blues, violets, purples—in thin layers. I nuance and structure the space. I incorporate warm colored whites and texture. Waves and rocks jostle across the surface of the water. A chasm takes shape. Pause, gaze, step back, dialogue, waiting, return. An inner truth wants to reveal itself. A walled-in tactile force seeks to reclaim its place. Instinctively, my hand obeys. My gesture asserts itself with a new boldness, until now unspoken. A knot buried within me, like this chasm, begins to unravel, releasing a powerful surge of life force, the joy of simply being, a torrent of organic matter, warm colors, sparks, and luminous filaments.