Blue Plate #4

Oil on Canvas 22"x28"

This another work in progress and will be in the exhibition at the Ian Tan Gallery in Vancouver.

I keep experimenting with different painting processes. In this piece, I did not begin with an underpainting, which has been the usual way that I start. I am fascinated with the effects of glazed color, applied in thin layers, allowing the white of the canvas to come through. It is a bit daunting to start right into a painting directly on white canvas, however, the purity of color, and the luminescence makes it worthwhile. The effect I am intending is to imply an inner light source, an inner radiation, as well as the traditional "exterior" light source. I am hoping that the viewer will "get" the idea that the inner radiation is a metaphor for consciousness. Not only that we are consciousness, but that the "objective" world is consciousness as well. Metaphysical considerations have always been important on a personal level, and this piece is the first one where I have intentionaly implied some of my musings into a painting method.