This series of works is a marriage of my abstract work and my still-life work. I use a palette knife for the abstract strokes and brushes for the subject matter. This painting is an homage to my own paint jar that has been in my studio for the past 30 years. “The Paint Jar” is a vibrant expressive composition of my studio paint jar. The splashes of paint seem to explode from the composition, indicating movement and spontaneity contributing to a sense of controlled chaos, which is an aspect of my studio art in general. The paintbrushes extend upward, their varied colors and sizes contributing to the sense of artistic unpredictability and creativity. The vibrant burst of purples and splashes of paint creates a dynamic background that feels both chaotic and harmonious reminiscent of the frenetic energy of the creative process. The maroon streak adds an element of drama to counterbalance the compositional elements of the work.

My technique of blending the abstract background with the more defined centerpiece of the vase and paintbrushes is a balance between abstraction and realism…structured yet spontaneous deliberate yet chaotic.