Vent 15, 2019
chalk pastel on paper, 7x7"
Vent 4, 2018
chalk pastel on paper, 7x7"
Vent 16, 2019
chalk pastel on paper, 7x7"
I map studio spaces. The studio interior and its accompanying detritus has been my primary subject for the past seven years, and I document the perimeter of each studio I inhabit in some form or other. This particular round of tracing the edges of the space led to a series of drawings of the eight vents evenly spaced around the room.
Initially I was intrigued by formal qualities - the arrangement of rectangles, lines, and planes of color divided the square composition in an aesthetically pleasing way. For me, drawing the same subject over and over forces me to observe more carefully with each drawing, considering the decisions of the previous drawings while trying to create something new every time. I was thinking about Monet's cathedral paintings, how changing light and different atmospheric effects make the same subject appear radically different and full of surprise.
Finding that sense of surprise, of seeing something with new eyes, and in doing so appreciating the seen all the more... is part of why I continue to paint. There is always more to see.
