Old Soul

Rothko, Jackson Pollack, Joan Mitchell, ........My giants of art, to name a few. What can you say about these artists only that they were the innovators, the mad scientists of their time, as far as art goes. They showed us how to view art through a different light. They experimented and taught us that art was more than just about painting pretty pictures. Painting a tree for instance, is painting a tree. It already existed, and was already present. Painting abstract was for them I think, about searching for new meaning in their art. It was about pushing subconcious feelings onto the canvas through expression, emotion and desire.

I often think of them as I paint, and try to imagine what it must of been like to be a painter in those days and paint as they did. I sometimes think of myself as an old soul, being beside them, painting talking about art and just hanging out. They give me the inspiration to try new ideas and experiment often, as they once did. They did pay a heavy price as some of their lives ended too soon and often, tragically. But they inspire me as an artist everyday, to search and keep growing emotionally and spiritually.