Body Works

Shadow Side|5″ x 7″ |Oil Painting on Board |CJK

I have this quote on my studio wall – “There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.” The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. … No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others”.
― Martha Graham

Graham an American modern dancer  and choreographer she led the way in her field and her influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on modern visual arts.

Your subject matter, your creative content, the process that generates creativity and making it fresh and new is always the challenge. I’m still learning the painterly skills to say what I want, I sometimes borrow from dramatic skill a dollop of dare and flair that may be showmanship but I’m still stretching to improve and get better. Bringing expression and a heartbeat to the image that is two dimensional… these paintings want to speak of so much more.