The Natural World and The Western Paradise [news]

Aug 11, 2010 | Categories:

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Discovering the Natural World through expressive texture and the Western Paradise through radiant light.

I was entranced with an unusually luminous paint that is characterized by elusive coloration. I experimented with this mysterious paint; it appears to be white when engaged head-on but reflects full scintillating color in sidelight. Repeating an unconventional dabbing stroke of the brush on a dark enameled surface created an all-over pattern of painted texture. The repetitive motion became an act of meditation.

In the Natural World paintings I see trees, foliage, ferns; watery currents, pebbled ponds, waterfalls; vaporous conditions, clouds, and the microscopic world of cells. In the Western Paradise paintings I see golden light, billowing clouds, atmospheric ephemera and melting edges, a place of lucent being.

Now, when I travel the sameness of the daily path, my attention is suddenly captivated by the texture of nature in its various forms. I once again melt into the Natural World. In the late afternoons, when a certain, clear, golden light flickers with the breeze, I am instantly transported to the Western Paradise.

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The painting that makes itself.

These paintings were made by texturing a surface with reflective paint through repeating a motion, a repetition that was as steady as breathing in and out.

This way of painting yields a painting that creates itself. I staged the materials and the colors. When the painting process begins, I am simply and completely engaged in the act of applying paint. Then, I step back and look, closely.

I like to see the stories that arise from the texture. This discovery happens through looking at the stippled surface and noticing the voice in the details. After a time, the mind begins to see what the spirit already knows: patterns remind us of images, recollections are prompted by our memory to make meaning from the patterns.

When we look at the abstraction, over time our mind will begin to see images and entertain us with chains of thoughts. The all-over texture, which at first seems to be an impenetrable wall without discernible image, will dissolve to reveal our own stories to us. We end up seeing our self! Self-revelation is the gift that we receive from this life.

Cheryl L Hamada
Venice, California
December 1998