Unfiltered; a Series of 8
The series Unfiltered, is a group of eight paintings where I made an agreement with myself to only paint while maintaining an open, uncensored mind. If at anytime, I began to question what was developing, or if the toxic thoughts of what "others" might say entered my consciousness, I was to step away.
For me, there is a fine line of instinctual play and conscious choice making. At what point does play become serious? What happens when we don't judge? When does applying paint spontaneously and uncensored become thoughtless and cliché? When does impulse get skewed by adhering to academic training? These are some of the questions I ask myself and gave me enough curiosity to find out...what would happen if I just got out of my way.
This series deals with maintaining awareness, being present in my painting, and also agreeing to let a free stream of creativity flow. I was surprised by the playful somewhat jazzy theme that evolved. Although, in retrospect it only seems natural given the attention I have given my art over the past year. It emphasizes my desire to keep ideas fresh and unedited which paved the way for more symbols; significant to me, to percolate. The repeated quilt motif, reminiscent of a game board, or geometric aerial views, serve as a unifier.
Each of these paintings were done using the encaustic technique of bonding layers of pigmented beeswax medium. They are 8x8 in size.
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| Sidelines - I love quilts, and the quilts of Gee's Bend really captivate me more than any other. |
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| Crossroads - Been through a few crossroads in my life. |
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| Madonna - I seem to be into this motif a lot because every time I find myself "doodling" I do a lot of crown-like halos around circles. Sort of a Statue of Liberty reference going on, too. Actually, I was going to title this The Madonnas, an homage to all the other mothers. |
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| Home and Garden - I love my home and garden, my mom's, and my grandmother's. |
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| The Game - Sort of surprised the Parcheesi reference didn't show up. I played that game for hours and I believe the whole time, I was just enchanted with the design of the game board. |
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| Circus - I almost decided against hanging this series in my solo show. They are such a departure for me. That would have defeated the purpose of my agreement. You see how sneaky that voice can be? I wanted to hear what people thought or more importantly see how they felt when they looked at all these paintings. It was wonderful to see people just breaking out in wide smiles. That is what I do when I look at them. |
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| Cafe - I think drinking coffee in sidewalk cafes is just plane good karma. |
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| Gaillardia on the Boardwalk - Always an homage to the beach. The gaillardia are always in bloom when I go to the NC beach. I love to garden, but never have luck here in Rochester with this plant. So, it will forever be my beach flower. |
