Midnight Under the Hydrangea 'Neath the Back Door Light
9" x 12", Oil on canvas
Artist Statement: Alla Prima
I have painted all my life, but only now seriously, and as
in all things I did not recognize there were rules to be followed. I splash
about with thick oil, gouache, acrylic, wax, any pigment. I mix them and add a varnish to
crack and de-establish the wet media; I push and pull and dig. Only recently
did I learn that there is a term for this, Alla Prima:
‘… alla
prima (Italian,
meaning at first attempt), is a painting technique,
used mostly in oil painting, in which layers of wet paint are applied to
previous layers of wet paint. This technique requires a fast way of working,
because the work has to be finished before the first layers have dried. It may
also be referred to as 'direct painting' or the French term au premier coup (at
first stroke).’
When I paint I have a theme, as I like to build a
collection, but rarely do I have a subject. I start with a minimal idea of an
outline – almost always done with Rose Madder, look for it at the
intersections, it represents the arteries, and almost always on an Orange-Yellow imprimatur which gives warmth,
energy, and boldness, it is the sun. And then I sculpt more than paint. I add medium and dig,
dig more, push, push more, scrape, scrumble, and with the effort an image appears. At
this point the details of light and depth become regulated, organized. Then I
stand back in amazement. The work does not come from the me I know. It comes
from a subconscious other.
As for a comment on the world or society, I revel in nature,
the tussle of a treed path, the sudden fence or odd rock. These are simple metaphors for the struggle of life we all face. Mostly the work is interpreted
as ‘going forward’ or ‘looking at’ the scene. However, I see them as views back over
the shoulder, of accomplishments, as proud moments. I aim for simplicity in
complication, light in darkness, beauty in ugliness, commonplace in unusualness, the divine duality of all things as a singularity.
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