Brian Whalen (Painting)
Artist Statement
I am a self-taught artist and I have worked hard to set up an original style by experimentation, the essence of which I experienced by watching artists at work. My artist grandmother introduced me to the group of painters, sculptors and photographers in her studio building in SOWA when I was young and I got an opportunity to see the rigors of a painters life and the importance of learning to use and care for your materials. I am a contemporary artist who works abstractly. I usually start the process with an intention and a large mark on my canvas which I think of as my signature which gives me permission to proceed, building up layers and deconstructing them using color, shapes and lines to display emotion...and sometimes text. Because I love words and because words can delight, enrich and enlighten, they open doors to my memory and provide an impetus to paint. To me there is a certain beauty adding words to my figurative work because the juxtaposition gives info about the subject which engages the viewer and hopefully touches the spirit.