Making the Surface Work

1-15-2020

"Abstract is not a style.  I simply want to make a surface work."
Joan Mitchell

Happy New Year!!!  It's a new year and decade.  Wow, it's hard to believe that we're in the 2020's.  I'm looking forward to seeing what this new year will bring.  I'm excited about what is happening in the studio.  I've been working on the Stirring Series and it's been getting good feedback from artists and non-artists alike.  It's very encouraging.  As I stated in my last blog post, I have to go to a place of anxiety to create these which isn't comfortable.  But yet within the anxiety, excitement lies.  It's a weird combination of both emotions.  The anxiety fuels the painting process and the excitement helps spur the process onward towards the final outcome. 
In a way, I feel like I'm working in the spirit of Joan Mitchell.  After spending time with her work, I finally 'get it'.  I've always loved her work but now, I can see how her brushstrokes and colors work together to embody painting itself.  It's a very freeing way of working.  As Mitchell states, she wants 'to make a surface work'.  I completely agree with her.  Abstraction is not just a style or a fashion of painting, it is a form of expressing that reveals the paint and surface in a way that allows the artist and viewer to experience it without the constraints of realism.  Don't get me wrong, I love realism, but for me as an artist, I find abstraction or non-objectivism more challenging.  It is a language of paint and mark making that fuses the intentions of both the artist and the medium to complete the work.  So often, the paint itself becomes both subject matter and mentor during the creative process.  And sometimes that result is surprising.  Many times, the paint dictates how the work will progress and form.  It is this symbiotic relationship that drives me to create.  I absolutely love it.  It relies on chance and that's something I can't control. It brings a freshness and spontaneity to the work which gives it life.
That's what is happening right now.  I'm enjoying the process in a way even though I'm in a weird place when creating.  I'm learning to trust my intuition and paint.  And I'm learning that it's ok to be in a strange place when creating.  It is an honest place to be and the release of emotions on the canvas or paper is needed.  So, until next time, enjoy, create, and be blessed!


                                           Untitled, 1957
                                                                Joan Mitchell, 'Untitled'
                                                                  1957, Oil on Canvas

                                                        Susan M Gibbons, Stirring XII
                                                             2020, Acrylic and Pastel
                                                                on Rives BFK Paper

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