Select Exhibitions > The Seasons Sacred

Painting The Seasons Sacred
In this work, the process of interpreting with color and form the Christian year was very much that of painting in an abstract expressionist mode. The paint and I worked together as a team, sharing the lead in the color composition. In this case, the paint was Plutonium™, a high-grade aerosol with delicious colors, saturation, and flexibility. Forms came from cut paper, found objects and plants (seeds, wheat and palm). The layering of colors and forms was the basis of this engaging dialogue. As the painted forms converged with the narrative elements I chose, the result became a visual record of this theologically charged discussion. From an abstract expressionist perspective, equally contributing to this discussion were myself, the narrative, the forms and most certainly the paint.

Advent and Mary
In Christian iconography, blue is Mary’s color; and during Advent, the time of expectation before Christmas, blue adorns the altar and the vestments of the priest. Here I have compressed Advent and the Madonna and Child. The ovals and curved lines represent the Madonna and Child in a configuration that I have used since I was very young. New to me, and emerging from the dialogue between the paint and cut forms, are the horizontal waves that ebb and flow across the entire length of The Seasons Sacred. When these appeared, I recognized them as the Word, the Breath, the Waters, the Wind, the ever-present Spirit.

Epiphany
I chose the baptism of Christ to represent this time of identity and revealing. The liturgical colors are gold and white.