Ancestor
2022. Acrylic and paper collage on canvas. 14 x 11 in.
My ancestors feel very present these days. Like they’re all still living, right now. But in the next room, not where I can hear or see them. And they’re not concerned with me. They’re concerned with their own affairs. I can’t guess what those might be. But the rooms are filling up, as my contemporaries die and join them. They all become my ancestors then.
This “figure” was not where I originally was headed, but once it started developing it was compelling for me. The piece started as another experiment with an underlying painted “grid”, and again without texture. The deep blue is actually one big piece of translucent paper painted and glued on, which was a bit challenging. It’s very thin, and it was hard to keep it from stretching out of shape and wrinkling more than is acceptable to me. I’m very particular about placement. Millimeters matter. They’re every one charged with meaning. The distance between elements describes relationship. I put a lot of labor into getting placement exactly right, but in truth it’s rarely exactly right with the glued paper. My technique is improving, but often I have to settle with just the best I can do.
Magicgroove: In the Studio 