As an expressive abstract painter, my painting practice is centered on paying attention – in noticing the particular. I sense that the visible world of nature can speak to something beyond itself. I am drawn to digging deeper to uncover what lies beneath - not the obvious meaning that defines an object, but what it might reveal about the veiled, intangible, and mysterious. The way, for example, peeling bark tells me not merely about the tree or the nature of bark, but also about revelation, vulnerability, and transparency.
My paintings are about connections in life; a blending of the external and internal, matter and spirit, observation and response. I begin with what I see and experience in the world around me, then respond intuitively through color, texture, gesture, and organic form, allowing the observed to become a starting point for an expression in paint of something less tangible.
This way of seeing also informs how I paint. Movement is one of the defining characteristics of my work. The initial marks on the canvas are gestural, connecting action with emotion as in lyrical dance or music. All subsequent marks are an intuitive response to the first. I have prepped the canvas with a texture of modeling paste or gesso, and this helps build depth with layers of acrylic color as the composition evolves.
I think of my paintings as an invitation to look beneath the surface of color, texture, and form; to pause, notice, and remain open to what might emerge.
Laurie Barmore