"EASY."

"Easy."

 

The interpretation of the title of this painting once resulted in tears & yelling. And there's a reason for that...

     I am not a talker, but I am fascinated by words. Language is so powerful, not only  in its ability to convey precise meaning, but to allow us to reveal ourselves and our perspectives and experiences. At face value, words can be very abstract. Sure, they have concrete, agreed upon definitions, but we assign a lot of personal meaning to them based on our individual views of reality.  Our ability to be exacting in our selection of vocabulary empowers us to paint a picture for others that gives beautiful nuance to how we feel, what we think, what we want and why.

    The titles of my paintings are an extension of the abstract experience. They are an ode to my love of language and a detail that creates nuance to the relationship between the viewer and the artwork.  The colors and textures of the paint are open to visual interpretation and draw upon perceptions, experiences, memories and moods of the mind they are interacting with. But the words assigned to the painting act in the same way.  While visual communication may be the primary entryway into the painting, the language in the title remains an open door for exploring meaning as well.

     My goal most often is to draw the minds of my paintings’ viewers in toward the painting, and then, more deeply inward toward themselves. The meaning found in any of my paintings is personal to each, individual trio of eyes and mind that take it in. There is a give and take that happens, and in that exchange, a moment of self-reflection manifests. It is our nature as humans to search for meaning and seek out patterns. These are the building blocks of our reality, and when we begin to take notice of how our minds are using them, we can wield that creative energy in magnificent, life changing ways.     

     And just in case you were wondering, the person who got so upset about "Easy" being the title of this painting was the person who taught me how to paint in this style. He was affected by his interpretation that I was commenting that painting in this way and the experience attached to doing so, was "easy". That could not have been further from the meaning I had found in pairing that painting and that word together. What meaning do you find when you explore these colors & textures along with this word? What memories or ideas does it bring to mind? At first glance, it's just a bunch of paint and letters. What reality have you built of it?