New: “Unshackled”

I recently gave an “artist talk” for a show I am in. I prefaced it with an apology up front that while I generally enjoying talking, I find it tough to talk about myself. That’s probably a good quality. But when the audience expects you to, getting started can be tough. But in this talk, there were good questions. One in particular got me pretty chatty. “How do you choose your palette?” I was asked. My answer probably bordered on too long…so the much shortened answer is this: I treat each painting like an experiment…like a chemist, mixing different liquids to see what bubbles up. I don’t subscribe to any school-of-this or school-of-that palettes, nor do I follow any of the “color theories” or “color wheels” they tried to teach me at art school. Instead, I take advantage of chance, luck, and whichever way the wind was blowing that day. This smaller piece was done as an experiment…purely an exercise in color combinations, trying new things, different colors next to each other, etc. I appreciate and admire those who follow theories or palettes, as they clearly work for many artists. For me, those are handcuffs, and I prefer to work unshackled. “Unshackled” 14 x 14