Playing in the Gap

For a while I thought my representational images were my real paintings, and that my play paintings, my in-betweens were of less merit, because at first glance, they seem more whimsical than finely crafted. But as I continue to explore spaces between, it becomes increasingly difficult to discern what is real. For sure the between is intangible, and it seems to have more of a connecting, inclusive energy than of separation. I think the between is about possibilities.

I started calling these paintings the In-Betweens because I work on them between my more realistic style paintings. At first the In-Betweens were a reprieve from the intense concentration required for realistic artwork. They were a breather. A break from normal. They filled that period of time between finishing a realistic style painting and beginning a new one. The In-Betweens are an exhale. I just let go. I paint with no preconceptions. They are a dream-world where colors are emotions, smells, tastes and sounds. The colors define shapes creating a rhythmic composition. To simply follow them with complete abandon is the greatest fun of all. It's satisfying to be lead around the picture plane that way after exhausting myself on a realistic piece that requires precision and unwavering attention to detail.

The In-Betweens are a total change of pace and mode of working. I begin with an old painting (you know— one from the "I wrecked it, I quit pile!") and scrub off most of the old paint. I like the paper to be roughed up to add texture and to show a hint of whatever image was there before. Then with pencil I draw a pattern of skewed shapes and creatures. The real fun is glazing one color over another to create patterns and rhythms dancing around the page. I change shapes by glazing and by lifting color out. Every new layer changes the one below, creating a new composition. As the layers deepen and colors become richer, the picture plane that started out flat and two dimensional, develops depth and a surreal landscape appears.

If you think about it, we are always in-between. Betweens are infinite. We're between waking and sleeping, birth and death, between this thought and the next, between lunch and dinner. And what of the gap between each breath? There is the space between you and me that we call relationships. While seeming empty, those spaces between are alive with potential. Inevitably we fill them up with the expectations and desires that create our world. When you meet that vibrant potential, how and what do you choose to fill it?