Playa Santa Series - Works on Paper

The ongoing Playa Santa Series is comprised of works on paper created in Playa Santa, Puerto Rico. Playa Santa is a small fishing village in the southwest corner of Puerto Rico, where I spend part of the winter working in a roof top studio. The panoramic views of the turquoise Caribbean collide with vivid skies to create endless painting combinations. Other influences include the local bio-luminescent bays and underwater sea life.

The sun’s 95-degree heat is the perfect alchemical agent to transform oil paint. The process includes many thin organic paint layers poured on top of one another. The painting is then left in the direct sun light where the mineral spirits evaporate and the oil paint residue becomes the final painting. This process emphasizes “chance and order.” I am not in control of the painting but have to work with the “chance” of the pour. I then edit the painting to create “order.” Some final paintings resolve quickly with three of four layers of paint, while others seem to encompass many lives (layers) before they are completed. I never know what form the final painting will take until it arrives. People often ask how do you know when a piece is finished? If I have to ask if myself if it’s finished then it’s not.