“A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because all things in nature are dark except where exposed by the light.”
-Leonardo Da Vinci
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I’ve been working on a number of pieces lately that start on a black base of paint, rising from the darkness as each subsequent layer adds more and more light. I still think of this additive process as being a form of sculpture, one that starts with a flat surface and builds out in contours that give it definition and texture. Each layer of paint is like adding clay to the supporting armature of the sculpture. It’s a process that is hard to pull away from when I immerse myself in it. There’s something about seeing the colors grow more and more vibrant on the surface that becomes mesmerizing. I guess that’s why I often refer to this work as obsessionism.
This small experiment, a 10″ by 12″ piece on paper, is in this vein. It’s one of those pieces that I’m just not sure about because I like it but I’m not sure if I like it for what it is or for the experience, the obsession of the moment in painting it. Like a parent looking at something their child has done and wondering if they like it because it is truly good or simply because it was done by their child, their flesh and blood.
Sometimes I can finish a piece and it instantly stands apart and on its own, complete and independent. Ready to move on like a young person proclaiming their emancipation from their parents. Other times, there are pieces that cling closer to me, perhaps too attached to yet stand on their own, at least in my eyes. Because I am unsure, I become more protective of these pieces because they do feel more personal, more of me.
It’s a hard thing to describe, this uncertainty in a piece, especially when it feels objectively right. Can a parent ever fully take out their own subjective view of their offspring and see them objectively as they really are?
Redtree Times 
As a non-painter, one of the most intriguing aspects of the process is the ability to bring more light by adding more layers. It seems counter-intuitive, but there it is.
One of the things I’ve noticed about parents is that they often get a more objective view when they suddenly see their child in a new context, whether it’s a 2 a.m. call from jail or a marvelous performance on stage. I suspect that’s part of what makes gallery shows so unnerving for every artist I know – seeing the work in a new context, and perhaps quite differently than in the studio.