Why do I paint? How is this motivation realized? What, if any, are my expectations of the observer?
To answer these questions that are fundamental to the artist, I’ll go back to my childhood. Utilizing blankets, toys, and books, I realized that I could create special, changeable environments. These environments, or installations, filled with life and emotion, offered me comfort—a certain sanctity or pause—and a stilling order from a chaotic world.
Observations, daydreams, and experiences encouraged my creative endeavors and kindled a desire to paint. My paintings are the outward conveyance of an inner process of thought and consideration of the occurrences of a sometimes bewildering world.
I paint because I like the process: to shatter the mirror, jump into the void, and witness perception coming to form. Utilizing gouache paint, pastel crayons, and watercolor pencils, I work subjectively with bold color and form to create an emotive abstract expression of a direct experience, thought, or memory.
As Piet Mondrian stated in 1907, “The position of the artist is humble. He is essentially a channel.” And because a viewer’s reaction may vary greatly between any two individuals, perhaps the paintings accomplish and question what a statement may only serve to constrain or limit. If, however, there can be a stated objective here, it is not to baffle, obscure, or force-feed the viewer, but rather to encourage a pause and perhaps a journey into an arena of memory, thought, and individual perception.
My work continues to offer me a vehicle in which to examine the world, and the resulting paintings stem from these experiences. For me, the completed work offers a satisfaction that something has been released, transformed, and stilled. Many years later, I find myself seeking this revealing stillness; therefore, I paint and relish the space where thoughts can wander uninhibited and forms can unfold freely on the canvas.
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Marilyn J. Welch
De’Bramble Art Gallery