Caroline Thompson
my personal statement - spring 2009
When reflecting on my most recent work, I found a voice to describe the process that begins and ends each piece:
An Artful Dance: From Lust to Love
Every painting is the beginning of a deeply personal relationship. As the process begins, I approach the canvas as though I were dancing for the first time. Flirtatiously, I brush the canvas with bold colors, sensuous movement, and rich imagery. I playfully tease new patterns to life. I am in the grip of a passionate obsession.
If the piece materializes beyond this early stage, taking on a life of its own that not only seduces but engulfs me on a deeper, truer level, I know I have transcended lust and I finish the work. If it is successful, I commit my name to the canvas as a symbol of my devotion. I, like Pygmalion, have fallen deeply in love with my creation.
But sometimes, after being swept away in expectation, I realize the relationship with the work disappoints. The intensity lessons, the obsession disappears. The ideal I saw in the beginning loses its luster and fades. I reach for a rag as the dance stills. I wipe the canvas clean.
But new images appear on the horizon and I give myself license to try again. The music calls the challenge, a creation that promises once more, to transcend obsession and be claimed forever. The dance is never ending. The music stirs.
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