Moon River Tango
Caught between the whiteness of the surface, and the pendulous brush filled with color, I rest in their embrace. The color-dance, touches, reacts, sings, soothes, carries my eyes back and forth, up and down in a vibrating tango. Tiny triangles and squares float in seas of blues or reds. A glowing grid beckons from the wetness like a lighthouse at the inlet. Boundaries safe, fountains overflow the borders of my feminine harbors, in blue coolness, or blood redness, dancing on the waves.
Painting is poetry. As a modernist and a colorist, I try to touch the souls of others with intense color and color variations. Color has the ability to produce different emotional states. Lightheartedness might be enhanced by a dawn-like yellow-orange, while a more somber mood might be elicited by a dark blue-violet. Color can also delight and give joy. The poetry of paint occurs at the boundaries of shapes, where it is possible to see color sing, its vibrations reaching a crescendo.
Abstraction has held a lifetime attraction for me. Creation is to manipulate shape in new, dynamic, or primitive ways to express reality. My choices of shape and color together convey an intention to pursue peace, harmony, and beauty in my work, with enough dissonance to be energetic and vital.
Art for art’s sake has the beauty, strength, and integrity to stand on its own. Though art is able to significantly express political or social concerns, art’s essence has the power and possibility to transcend the mundane, to transform the viewer, and to ultimately elevate our civilization for the better.
The process of painting has reared its head in my work in recent years. I have found that from studying anatomy and physiology when working in hospitals that the flow of paint relates to the ocean’s tides and to human vascularity. The watercolor blotch develops into the pool of paint, floating on the lifeboat of heavy paper, until it evaporates, and more pools are poured. Layers of glaze are seen in present paintings.
Painting is not only process and poetry. It is also a spiritual practice. Several series express mystical thoughts about the Hebrew Alphabet, abstracted Hebrew letters, or Biblical themes. When I paint, I mimic the Divine joy of creation. This is my way of repairing the world.