On Painting

April 18, 2023

What it’s all about is respect.

I can’t help but respect the character of the line, the shape, the color, the tone.

And then there is this sensual aspect to it.

I experience this place or that place on the painting as being somewhere I’ve been in a moment in time, or a certain time of day, the sun slanting in the window just so. A color combination becomes a particular taste, a dance move, a rhythm, a smell.

Knowing my colors and their personalities, I have prior intimate knowledge of all the places and what goes on there.

That said, it is the places themselves that educate me as we work through the painting.

It’s like all my colors are bitchy lovers.

They are constantly telling me what’s wrong, what needs fixing, how I can do it better.

If I change any one color, all the others around it will start acting up.

“What about me? If you are going to do that there, don’t you see where that changes everything for me?”

I listen to this stuff all day long and pretty much just do what they say.

I’m just the paintbrush.

It used to be that I would follow the conversation on and on forever, like a science project, every decision leading to the next question.

But now it’s more like we all agreed that it’s enough just to be on the same page, talking about the same thing and getting along with each other.