What is the purest way to express the energy of a moment in a painting?
Time and again, I return to pure black and white line paintings for this purpose. A white surface and black paint – either straight from the tube or mixed. Just one tool. No distraction of color.
Making these black and white line painting is a way for me to make my own energy state more accessible to me. A quick pathway to better integrate head, heart, and body as I navigate life. And no surprise that I often see the kind of energy lines showing up in the practice of the day showing up later that day in my painting.
While making these line paintings are often purely about practice and process, many of them also stand on their own. They express something of the essence of a moment, a situation, an interaction in a pure way. Amidst the noise and chaos of our world, they simplify things. They are indeed elemental.
Image: Feeling the breeze. Acrylic on watercolor paper. 30 by 22 inches.