OFF THE PATH PAINTINGS

I paint the images that speak to me at the moment. I remind myself to notice and sift the smells, sounds, and memory of my surroundings. I walk at dusk and I walk at dawn and in the winter and spring. Many of the objects I paint are treasures I can hold in my hand. Over the years I have built up a collection of rocks, seeds, pods, bones, cones, … I also collect books on nature-related ideas and images

The painting problems are renewed with every painting. Every new addition of paint on the canvas invites a reaction. Clear brushstroke. Smeared brushstroke. Same color. Different color. Paint this in. Paint that out. Here there is a need for clarity. But over here there is a call for mystery or an ambiguous space. There is a dialog between what is on the canvas and what is in my mind. Acrylic paint dries quickly and invites change and flow and reinvention.

Judith Miller, 2002