Subtraction
“And here is the serpent again,
dragging himself out from his nest of darkness,
his cave under the dark rocks,
his winter-death.
He slides over the pine needles.
He loops around the branches of rising grass,
looking for the sun...”
In this series of plant studies the design starts with subtraction. By replacing highly saturated color with subtle warm and cool grays the focal point shifts from color to shape and texture. I take inspiration from the early growing season in New Orleans, the time between the leafless branches of Spring and the jungle-like growth of Summer. The river acts as a motif grounding the abstraction into a place, like the Mississippi river nestling its way into the surrounding landscape. The surface of the canvas becomes a fresh element, replacing my gel mediums with matte stuccos to create a sediment-like texture. By altering my focus on shape and texture instead of the domination of color I push past the regular patterns in my work to think differently about composition. A new practice, like the renewal of Spring, germinates new processes and inspires growth.