I like circles. Simply put, they are beautiful. There is a satisfying feeling to drawing a round object, either freehand or using a template. I remember a specific event that started my interest in using circles as part of my paintings, aside from prolific doodling in notebooks. I was visiting one of my friends in the industrial design program and he was practicing freehand circles (or ellipses, if you want to be fancy ;) on a large sheet of newsprint. The fluidity of the movement and pattern created was deeply gratifying. This inspired an elliptical bowl shape that I call “annaspheres”, although I can’t take credit for the name. Unfortunately, I don’t remember which friend came up with that term. Conceptually, I imagine that these spheres hold “something”: ideas, objects, anything you want, but it will always be a mystery (à la suitcase in Pulp Fiction). These spheres are also a metaphor for creating my own little worlds, where my imagination has free reign. Art allows me to be deeply in my mind, in a positive and productive way, that otherwise promotes anxiety and stress. While resuming painting isn’t the only factor, it is quite significant in feeling more like myself again. for the first time in many years.
Their Own Voice
Mixed media on 4.5 x 7” paper, 1999
Private collection, Goshen, IN
Paddy
Mixed media on paper
42 x 57”
1998
Work in progress
Acrylic on canvas
36 x 36 x 2”