Finding My Artist Voice

In one of his recent BobBlasts on the subject of placing a figure in a painting, artist Robert Burridge wrote, "To me, a pointless batch of colors splashed about might be pretty, but will have an empty impact. A good painting has a loud voice!" And by "loud voice," he meant clarifying the story line and enhancing the visual statement by adding a figure or two. Or three.

I have wrestled with this issue of figurative abstracts for some time, probably because I can't seem to paint a non-referential abstraction that I like. I always gravitate back to the figure. Perhaps this is because a gestural figure can tell a compelling story . . . or maybe it's just because I find the image more interesting if there is a human element.

I follow several figurative artists, and I've recently discovered Chris Gwaltney who lives in Laguna Beach, the place where my heart, after fifty years, is still attached with a million strings. But that's not why I follow him. His paintings tell a story and he uses the abstracted figure to complete the storyline (see his painting Anchor below). I love his work, the sensuousness, the mystery, and the numinous quality of the paintings speak to me and draw me in.

In my painting, Far From the Fire and the Tribe (right), the figurative aspect helps enhance the visual statement of loneliness and isolation. This was a very personal work in that I painted it during the holidays which, since I have no family, are a lonely and difficult time. The palette, even the yellows is predominantly cool, furthering the emotional impact of isolation and distance from the “fire.”

So like it or not, fight it as much as I might, I am a figurative painter. At least for right now.