Sunday, February 19, 2012

Handwriting a statement


It's never easy to turn a visual practice into a literary bullet point. But sometimes you have to. I'm applying to an MFA program and it forces me to look at what I have to offer.
Not an easy or fun task. This painting, titled Handwriting, was easier to work up to than the written statement. I started with it and flew from acrylic to ink.
So here is a little more:

My portfolio is retrospective in scope and effect. Over the last several years I have chosen the methodology of working in time based series that respond to and chronicle events in my life, such as burying a friend, getting a divorce, sending my children away, and letting go of the past. The people who collect my work send me long private letters about their circumstances. Our relationships are brief and poignant. Their words can find their way into the next work. The paintings, in retrospect, prove the symbolic act of painting as a soul connecting experience. The successful ones uncover and celebrate the hard mysteries of our place in the universe. They deal with the anxieties of our time and questions of relevance, such as self-identity and purpose.


I feel as though this circles round and round. Is that the point of handwriting?

5 comments:

  1. Hey.. My name is Bhavna, my painting style varies from realistic to abstraction. I love experimenting with colors and different habits in my work. I hope to share my creative expressions through my website, www.mesmerizingstrokes.com. Would like to see you there and exchange ideas on the wonderful mediums in visual arts.

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  2. Placing a note on a painting is a unique idea. This would make a beautiful wall art when enlarged!

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