Artists

Whenever I start a series I don't have any preconceived notion of what it is I am trying to say. I just have the urge to paint and to mix colors because color has the irresistible drawing power of chocolate or opiates. It is so seductive that I don't even have to like the colors I choose in the beginning of the composition. Once I lay an allover ground, I use an irregular grid to make hundreds, sometimes thousands of little marks on each canvas until the surface is covered. The grid refers to my Italian grandparent's black and white tile floor that was in the kitchen and dining room of their sugar cane plantation in Louisiana.

Once the grid is obsessively laid out I lose myself in the process. Layers and layers of gesso, acrylic, and oil are applied over collaged elements. By weaving the pigments and textures together the surface becomes integrated and layers appear indistinguishable from each other. The process is similar to a musician combining notes and instruments in an improvised performance.

If I am not satisfied with the integration of colors and textures, I will destroy the layers by tearing parts of the surface off, giving up the grid marks, sanding off, or painting over certain areas. It doesn't matter how much I destroy because I am only satisfied until I feel as though the work resonates the way I want it to. So, when I am finished, I am finished.

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