Recently I did a kind of mental inventory and asked, “when my paintings work, what’s happening?” Here’s my answer.
1. Layers of opacity, things on top of things, some obscured, some showing through.
2. No planning beyond color choices. One mark leads to the next.
3. Dark colors over light, but also light colors over dark.
4. Elements of drawing, especially with sumi-e ink or scratched through to lower layers, done with a variety of mark-making tools.
5. Some figuration, almost always accidental.
6. Textures, but not too overt or worked, usually accidental.
7. A little bit of mystery. I’m not quite sure what is going on or being depicted, if anything.
8. Large elements and fine details.
9. Things are a bit of a mess in some ways. A little chaotic or hints of breakdown or chaos.
10. Size and scale matter. Large canvases do something powerful but small drawings also can charm.
11. A sense of struggle and effort. I can feel a tension in the work or in me as I view it. I can see the painter in the painting.
12. Unexpected things emerge over time with more looking.
13. I feel something I can’t quite define, a kind of positive disturbance.
NOTE: Most of these conditions are present in the work of others that I love.
