One of arts chief functions is to resist the denaturing forces that are always present; those things that would take away our transcendent possibilities and turn us into stereotyped beings. For me Art is not the production of meaning but the providing of a genuine experience of what it is to be alive and in the world. Octavio Paz said that art turns the viewer into an artist. Great art is a freedom giver, offering one a sense of the breadth of one’s own possibilities, what may yet be accomplished.
As a mature artist now 73 years old, I find I have this large vocabulary to draw from. Imagery that has woven its way thru my entire career is available and malleable. I have access to this personal history with a renewed understanding of it’s original intent and a deepening understanding of how these “forms” can continue to speak for me in paint. I also seek to explore the range of subject matter my paintings can encompass as I look to everyday experiences, tell stories and paint about current events in a expanding as well as deepening vocabulary. There is in Art History an excitement as I see my concerns expressed in new artists and old ‘friends’ offer continued gifts. At its best making art is a revelatory experience, a conduit to the beauty and mystery in the miracle of simply being here. Painting is the wish and the prayer and the offering all in one. It is an act of faith just to pick up the brush.
Reference
www.farrellbrickhouse.net/artist-statements
