Awareness of every detail of life is mentally taxing. My mind is scattered while sitting at my desk in biology class: I notice the clock ticking, the person next to me smacking their lips while chewing gum, foot steps in the distant hallway, a door slamming in the adjacent room, all while my mind begins to daydream of the weekend, instead of focusing on that biology test in front of me. My mind feels scattered. How do we provide ourselves with a mental vacation from the impetuous demands of everyday life? For me, time ceases to exist when I paint. I am no longer aware of every small distraction. The act of creating requires sustained focus on the present moment. My mind no longer wanders and I am not required to multitask; rather, I am focused, present, and attentive. Painting is a form of gaining a mental balance by removal of distractions.

My process is my subject matter. The act of creating is far more important to me than what has already been created. Thus, my paintings live and breathe only when I am actively engaged with their creation. My process begins by laying down a single color onto the entirety of the picture plane. The paintings come to life by building layers of unique color combinations. I methodically place strips of masking tape onto the surface of the picture plane in a linear orientation. The tape is painted over, leaving the previous base layer beneath the tape untouched. When I remove the tape, the painting evolves into something else; it changes the way a living thing is always changing. The lack of control exists by the removal of the tape, which reveals an entirely new color interaction. These new color combinations are unpredictable and add an element of excitement and surprise for me. I find that the repetitive use of the same linear shape enhances my ability to maintain focus because I am eliminating the element of choice, and purely focusing on the act of painting.

My color choices tend to be bold and optically active. They are placed into an orientation that creates visual tension through vibrational movements reminiscent of “hypnotic” images. I am unsure as to whether the visual experience is a means to enter a trance-like state of mind or if my own color perception is altered due to a trance-like state of mind. Scientific studies have suggested that color perception is altered during states of hypnosis. The brain processes color differently based off of one’s state of mind. Therefore, color choice may be a consequence of my hyper-focused state of mind while painting.

When I consider the final product, I feel that it is important to create a work that best facilitates the experience of mediation and hypnosis because this helps sustain focus and eliminate distraction. Therefore, my work has recently grown to a large scale. When the visual field is completely occupied by the painting, objects occupying the periphery are removed, enhancing the experience of the color interactions.