Acrylic, spray, splatter and paint marker on 48″x24″ wood
My dad asked me to explain this painting to him. I said, “My basic idea was that I would have a lady’s face and then some stuff to the right of it.”
My not-so-basic idea? This is a representation of how our brains connect to the idea of ‘thoughtspace’. This idea is that we don’t actually create things, but that we instead tap into another plane of existence made of pure creativity. I went realistic on the face, getting all of the features and tones right. Then I opened it up with pure stream-of-consciousness painting, trying to not let my rational brain get in the way, and instead connected my hand directly to thoughtspace, first with random markings with spraypaint, then dipping a stick into paint and letting it drip wherever it wanted to. I then watered down gesso and let it drip from the top, and finished up with fragments of pattern using a paint marker.
The lines made by the dripping paint almost create the gutters of a comic book panel, making a rhythm of images and a story evolves, showing the creativity moving right into the lady’s head.
Or it’s a lady’s head with some stuff to the right of it.
Here’s some progress shots:
