Emergence No. 7

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The painting process in my current body of work, Emergence , explores the boundaries between painting, texture, and sculpture, and the tension between structure and fluidity.

These pieces evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which structures—like our homes—have functioned as both protective fortresses and as incubators or birthplaces for healing and renewal.

I developed a new way of creating these paintings by first building thick, textured walled structures on sealed panel. I formed these structures one layer at a time, out of tinted heavy-bodied medium, creating what I describe as an organic "fortress" with a deep, inviting cavity. I then carefully refilled the hollow cavity within the walls with wet medium, which merged with the dry structure. While the confection-like centre was still wet, I then sculpted and re-sculpted it through both reductive and additive processes until a beautiful new form emerged from within the structure.

This painting process involves an intimate, intuitive, and sensuous shaping of the medium. The finished pieces evoke that process, and suggest fluidity, evolution, flow, emergence, and renewal.