Artist Statement
The challenge for me is always to capture what a place looks like and feels like but also to have a relationship with the painting as I am making it. To be open to what may happen in the studio. I don’t start with an exact idea of what the painting will be when I am finished. All I know is what I want it to feel like- and I never really know how that will come about.
I almost always do my paintings in one go- one session in the studio. This is to allow for clarity in purpose, but also to give the work a sense of immediacy. I want the paintings to be direct and fluid. There is a fine line between overworked, unfinished, and resolved paintings, and I am always trying to find that balance.
I waste a lot of paint, and have many frustrating days where I scrape off a whole day’s work onto the floor, only to start over the next day. But in each attempt, I become clearer about what I am painting, so that in the end, the work is more concise. I want the paint to be allowed to be paint. Sometimes there are drips or imperfections, but I leave them because sometimes it is those “mistakes” that anchor the work for me.
Sara MacCulloch 2012