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Soundings and Fathoms
11/25/2022
“I like straight lines, I like angles, I like order...” - Carmen Herrara
I’VE BEEN THINKING about my artwork lately, and have had the chance to talk with a few people about it as well.
My artwork is largely based on simple forms, shapes, light, shadow, and space. Within a set of limitations, I draw these things over and over and over, until interesting images arise. When a solid solution arises, I commit it to paint. This method relies on intuition and chance, it’s an adventure where I never know what’s going to be around the next bend!
I find that the more I talk about my drawings and paintings, the more I see in them, the more insight I get into my self, and the more I see the deeper connection between my work and my life experience.
For example, recently I was talking with a fellow MA student, and her reaction to my work was revelatory. She revealed that she had ADHD, and for her, my work had a calming effect, the minimalist application of hard edged straight lines, clean flat shapes and colors, possibly the blue colors... they were peaceful. Not long after that I was showing my work, and another person had the same reaction.
This was great to hear, because it is indeed how I feel about most of the artwork I’ve done in the last few years. But the new piece to this for myself, was the connection between the sense of calm and quiet and control that I get from my art, and why it has this effect!
I began to formulate an opinion; that the minimalist, hard edged flat shapes, clean lines, and simple color combinations of the pieces which calm my mind, are a reaction to the chaos of the world we live in, and to my experience of living in it. The sights, sounds, hurried peoples, politics, social media, advertising, environmental degradation, inequality, do’s and dont’s etc., it’s all too much information, too much noise, too much distraction!!! I found myself saying to them that there is so much chaos and disorder in the world, I just need to feel a little bit of order, have a little bit of control, a little bit of space and calm, and I get to have that through my art.
Shortly after this revelation, I found out about Carmen Herrera, a wonderful geometric abstractionist artist who unfortunately passed away this year at the age of 107! The following quote from her really hit it home for me!
“I like straight lines, I like angles, I like order. In this chaos that we live in, I like to put order. I guess that’s why I am a hard-edged painter, a geometric painter.” - Carmen Herrera
I’VE BEEN THINKING about my artwork lately, and have had the chance to talk with a few people about it as well.
My artwork is largely based on simple forms, shapes, light, shadow, and space. Within a set of limitations, I draw these things over and over and over, until interesting images arise. When a solid solution arises, I commit it to paint. This method relies on intuition and chance, it’s an adventure where I never know what’s going to be around the next bend!
I find that the more I talk about my drawings and paintings, the more I see in them, the more insight I get into my self, and the more I see the deeper connection between my work and my life experience.
For example, recently I was talking with a fellow MA student, and her reaction to my work was revelatory. She revealed that she had ADHD, and for her, my work had a calming effect, the minimalist application of hard edged straight lines, clean flat shapes and colors, possibly the blue colors... they were peaceful. Not long after that I was showing my work, and another person had the same reaction.
This was great to hear, because it is indeed how I feel about most of the artwork I’ve done in the last few years. But the new piece to this for myself, was the connection between the sense of calm and quiet and control that I get from my art, and why it has this effect!
I began to formulate an opinion; that the minimalist, hard edged flat shapes, clean lines, and simple color combinations of the pieces which calm my mind, are a reaction to the chaos of the world we live in, and to my experience of living in it. The sights, sounds, hurried peoples, politics, social media, advertising, environmental degradation, inequality, do’s and dont’s etc., it’s all too much information, too much noise, too much distraction!!! I found myself saying to them that there is so much chaos and disorder in the world, I just need to feel a little bit of order, have a little bit of control, a little bit of space and calm, and I get to have that through my art.
Shortly after this revelation, I found out about Carmen Herrera, a wonderful geometric abstractionist artist who unfortunately passed away this year at the age of 107! The following quote from her really hit it home for me!
“I like straight lines, I like angles, I like order. In this chaos that we live in, I like to put order. I guess that’s why I am a hard-edged painter, a geometric painter.” - Carmen Herrera