Mind over Matter

My artwork is not about the material used, instead it is about the mind, the thoughts behind the composition. What I use as an art supply - is something I happened on as a solution to a problem.

1. When approaching a new canvas, I don't think about the material, I think about the composition. I have long conversations with myself about what I am doing. Every line, every movement is thoughtful.
2. My purpose in creating my work is totally about the feeling I wish to evoke through the portrait, through the image.
3. I use paint to create a face. The colors I wish to use, the decisions about where on the canvas the subject goes... shadows, eye color - everything is in my mind and not influenced by material.
4. I respond to my resource image [real or imagined] and the improvisation starts there.
5. The process that begins once I finish the painting is all about manipulating the materials at hand.
6. Sometimes, the material used relates to the subject or the emotion, but it is not ruled by the material.

I want you to look at the work and respond to the image first. Then, you can look closer to view the materials, then you can think about the process I created to place each piece exactly where it needed to go to create the image.