Artist Statement

untitled. Oil on canvas. 2019 — *untitled.* Oil on canvas. 2019

Working primarily in watercolor and oil paint, I examine the relationships of process, material, and (embodied) concepts of place. I am interested in transcribing experience and memory; both literal and interior landscapes of emotion and being. Influenced by my time in wilderness lands from the deserts of the Colorado plateau to the high peaks of the Himalaya my work takes shape with these memories as I play with the physicality of brush strokes, mediums, and paper or canvas.I seek to find a flow state while working, sometimes barely scrutinizing the details as I apply or remove paint. I do not attempt to create realistic images and approach painting without a defined finish.

My technique involves a responsive and reactive relationship with the media. My paint and tools, such as the palette knife, round brush, or the 2B pencil are an extension of myself. These tools, along with the hardness of a wood panel or rough watercolor paper, relate with my ideas, the material reactions, and my mistakes in an entangled process of becoming. Using gold leaf foil or glossy mediums, I continue to be intrigued by texture and light. Asymmetrical, messy, and abstract, my paintings are as much about the process as the endpoint. What excites me about painting is the unexpected emergence of the final composition.

The context of my current work moves away from literal topographies to that of fantastical and speculative landscapes. I am hesitant to imply meaning beyond the paint to my work, as whoever views it brings their own context and understanding of art. Yet these colors, strokes, and compositions hold symbolism to my experiences that are inseparable from my creative process. I create paintings of far off galaxies and lands; places I wish to travel or imaginaries beyond the veil of the living. I think of posthuman machines, such as the Voyager spacecrafts and where they may one day explore. I am inspired by Mark Rothko’s color fields, Helen Frankenthaler’s expressionism, Clyfford Still’s texture, and Star Wars visionary Ralph McQuarry. As such, I create a variety of interconnected themes while asking myself “does this delight me or is this true to myself?” These paintings embrace intellectual passion and speculative possibilities from the interior of human experiences to the cosmos.

email: brittlestar.art@gmail.com

*Kala Pattar, Khumbu*. Watercolor on paper. 2019

Speculative Hope

Painting with chronic illness, a recent series

Influenced by speculative realms and dream-like places in the cosmos, my art builds on hope. My creative process flows within watercolor—a space to release from the confines of my symptoms and expectations with hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and comorbidities. These paintings emerged during brief respites sitting upright while coping with the neurological pains of low brain pressure and a spinal CSF leak. The fluidity of the medium reflects my nerve pathways, the snaking and elusive CSF leaking from the depths of my body; yet, throughout all, hope is held in the stars.

I work slowly, and at times cannot sit up or look down. When symptoms ebb, abstract painting allows my hypermobile hands and fingers to loosely play with tools and media. These pigments bring joy and a grasp of my identity amidst the pain.