While plein air painting in Mill Race Park I connected to the mark of the brush smooshing oil paint onto paper. The mark reminded me of the paintings I saw of Morandi’s in Rome. I was delighted by the effect. Within the stroke the colors mixed on the paper, pushing me to explore how light and shadow could be accomplished in the movement of the brush. 

This one moment inspired the precedent for the final project. I wanted to explore how paint application in this manner could express color and materiality. As a collector of colorful, gemmy, and antique objects, connecting to these personal objects through painting provided a thoughtful approach to this. 

Paintings were done on unstretched canvas and paper to manipulate the balance of paint and the application surface. As the project progressed, application speed was increased, and gesture was amplified.

J. Irwin Miller M. Arch Program // Visual Studies 3 - Fall 2022 // Professor Andy Bullard