“Many viewers have observed that my painting style seems influenced by printmaking and monotype.
That’s partly because the fluidity and the trans- parency of the acrylic paint offer me a degree of control that reinforces my particular technique. In my painting, I enjoy using tools similar to those used in printmaking, and especially enjoy the heft and shape of the tools in my hand. I’ve seldom used brushes to paint, and for the last seventeen years had given them up altogether. I discovered that for me it was much more enjoyable to scratch and sculpt the surfaces of the paintings. Similar to printmaking, I also work flat on a table or on a supporting surface. “Thanks to the flexibility of acrylics, over the years I’ve adapted my use of them to create the layered, monotype-looking effects in my paintings. |
The medium’s fast-drying properties enable me to work in layer after layer to achieve the degree of complexity I envisioned for a given painting. I also use the force of water, sprinkled or sprayed from a bottle, to manipulate and control the surfaces of the paint.
Using splashes of water to create textures and effects can be as unpredictable as the fluidity of water itself, and the result is always surprising. To some extent, the water lets me cede control over a painting’s final state, this introducing to the creative process an element of surprise that I find personally very rewarding.” |