Field Series

I’ve been thinking of fields. There’s an idea in buddhism—fields of consciousness. Buddhism arose in the context of an agricultural society and what we cultivate when we practice are the fields of our consciousness. We say practice because it is ongoing, moment to moment. It’s not necessarily about reaching for anything, rather we can cultivate skillfulness and kindness—love— in our thoughts, speech and action. This reduces harm to ourselves and all other beings. So these fields do not exist only in our mind. The state of our fields of consciousness manifests in our bodies and our lives and our relationships. What energies are we “watering”? How do we handle the difficult emotions that are part of the human experience? What else are we cultivating in our mind, spirit, and body?

I don’t approach these paintings as illustrations of fields. This is the concept but in fact these are simply miniature fields of paint and graphite, drawing and egg tempera on found wood. I map intimate spaces to plant color and tone, proportion and rhythm. In my small fields I concern myself with staying present with the painting, laying down light and hue, layers and relationships. I pay attention to the interstices.