Artist Statement

We are the sum of everything we have experienced. Knowledge, emotion, environment, visual and tactile circumstances come together to make us who we are. We see the world through individual perceptions forged from what make us unique. There is no right or wrong in art. What provokes a reaction in you may have a completely opposite response from me. I believe that the most effective artists tap into a universal commonality, which connects us all. The artists have created something that cuts through our differences and appeals to whatever makes us similar. 

When I begin a painting my most basic instinct is to try and allow the materials to guide me. When I have a preconceived notion of the colors and shapes I wish to use on a canvas I find that the combination of color and texture takes me to a new place. Each shape or color guides me in a direction I had not imagined. By the end of the journey, I am often amazed at the result. All the cells of my being have come together for a moment in time and created an image that is distinctly mine.

Although I would prefer to not name my paintings as I don't wish to lead the viewer to see what I have seen; my desire is that they view them from the sum total of who they are. However, I have discovered that it is next to impossible to call up a mental image of a particular painting without the connection of a name to bring that image to mind. Therefore, I will name each work as a reflection of my personal experience.

Robert V Ryan