DeaconStrucktor

I approach my art as a balancing act. It's a way for me to counteract tendencies within myself towards pessimism, while avoiding the territory of blind optimism. It's about understanding and accepting all the beauty and ugliness that exists in life and about determining where to place reverence and ridicule appropriately. It is one part therapy, one part escapism, and one part confrontation. It's a personal journey of self-improvement both as an artist and as a person. The act of creation is, for me, a cross between what I imagine religious ecstasy must feel like and what it must feel like to remove your own fingernails and toenails with pliers and dull spoons. There is both pleasure and pain, inspiration and frustration. It is a journey toward an impossible goal of perfection, but a journey that needs to be attempted to avoid stagnation and death.

I mainly choose themes, materials, and techniques based on whims and what interests me in the moment. However, humour and nature play large, and continuing, roles in my art. Generally, I rely on "out-of-the-blue" inspiration, or ideas from cultural influences that either mesh with, or contradict, my personal beliefs. If it's an idea that makes me laugh, I usually feel it's worth following through on. I have returned to creating art after a long break and feel there is so much to catch up on that I am currently in an unfocussed stage where I want to try all mediums and techniques. Most often, my tendency is to turn to the digital format (Corel Painter 12) due to the ease of preparation, but I have a deep love and respect for traditional formats of all kinds. I've particularly come to appreciate the boldness and vibrancy of oil pastels. And though I have yet to use it, oil painting is the one medium that holds the greatest appeal for me as it seems to symbolize the professional and historical qualities that I think of when I consider the term: "Art."

My current work is focused more on colour, and positivity than my early works. It is a response to the negative attitudes of the first half of my life. I am attempting to improve my understanding of the basic elements of visual art, and improve my techniques beyond a prior reliance on cartoonist styling. I don't feel that any of my works can be considered truly finished. They are always open to new interpretations and expressions. As I grow as an artist I want to feel free to adapt past works to reflect how I currently feel about their content. And I want others to be able to use them as branching points to express their views, one of the reasons why I include most of my work under a Creative Commons license.

For more info on Creative Commons: creativecommons.org/

For tips on writing your own artist's statement: www.mollygordon.com/resources/…