Big Gray Clouds

Mixed media on canvas 48″x60″

Every time I make a large piece I’m reminded of how much I LOVE to paint. It’s often after having worked with small paper, scissors and glue. It’s really refreshing to feel the paint on the brush on the canvas, to see the drips and brushstrokes. I remember starting this painting and thinking ‘Man, this is fun’. It felt so good to be painting again. After making the slippery, drippy, swirly brushstrokes at the top I just stopped. They were just right.

There are a lot of paper sections collaged down at the bottom of the piece, like the paint is coming down and covering this colorful horizon in a big gray cloud. I’ve so often put a dividing line in my paintings, part or most of the way down the canvas, I see it as a horizon line. Having grown up in a very flat states- Texas and Kansas- those flat landscapes and lines are seared in my memory. The grays in this piece came out quite rich and feel bulbous- like clouds. It’s like a storm brewing above a lovely peachy, pink landscape down below.

This painting also has all the material elements I love using, as well-spray paint, enamel, latex acrylic, collaged elements and black marker. It’s chaos and calm. Making a painting that has room for both of those is always a goal, and when you strike the right balance you can really feel it.