The focus of my studio practice is no different then my life’s practice-- undoing and letting go. In the studio it’s the continual process sitting in the uncomfortable as I paint not knowing. If I get out of the way, I am curious to see what will happen.
Multiple strategies are employed to accomplish this. Paint is layered up, removed, and then covered up again. Sometimes a razor blade, belt sander, or dremel is used. Raw pigment, binder, silt, and intuitive color choices are applied with dried-up brushes, putty knife, or poured in layers. Sometimes I paint in the dark. Process is painting as a verb. Improvisation is ever present. Eventually a painting arrives as a noun..
The studio practice cycles through many iterations— curiosity, procrastination, patience, attachment, chaos, and arrival. I practice this undoing many times over. Preciousness must be abandoned.
Even though all things are impermanent, at some point there is a declaration of doneness. The painting arrives.