Jennifer Day

Artist's Statement

While this work explores the mystery of natural phenomena, it communicates a vastness of air, water and space that suggests something is going to happen, or has just happened. Few elements are solid. Most are fugitive, completely contrived yet completely believable. The imposing shapes suggest an infinity which is both elegant and overwhelming, and though one might lose a sense of equilibrium, this my personal experiment after all.

I think of my work as a traveling experience, the destination of which is a place that transcends ordinary visual experience, a place that I believe in and am awed by. I rarely know how a piece will end up and I don't want to, though I trust that I will learn as I go. For instance, waves resist being painted, thought the idea only gets in the way. I let go of the variables, but like an experiment, I employ certain constants:

• Chroma, one pile of paint that is derived from black.
• Some natural phenomenon as a subject which to me is open -ended, something I question or am haunted by.
• Very often a horizontal format resembling what is known as a "predella" which is defined as "a subsidiary picture to a larger one, especially a small painting placed beneath an alterpiece". Though some of my smaller works are used as ancillaries to larger ones, they have a narrative life of their own.

Some of my variables are:

• Tonal variety which is very subtle and controled by:
• Medium (turps and oil combo). Drying time is crucial because at a certain point nothing can be changed.
• Arbitrary marks. These I consider essential to my exploration as they "tell" me what to do next. Because the painting is done on masonite coated with several layers of gesso, the surface has to be rubbed vigorously to uncover white or "light" beneath. I tend to use paper towels more that brushes as they allow me to give up some control and work with serendipity which is much more fun. As I explore the surface of a piece, I am simultaniously reworking ideas. I let the idea reveal itself to me rather than impose a preconceived image upon it. For example, rather than fighting against a bump in the gesso or an inadvertent blur, I try to integrate the marks into the piece and to "listen" to how the composition can use an accidental element..

The initial inspiration for my work comes from a combination of experience, imagination and from such sources as the work of photograghers Matthew Brady, Josef Sudek Josef Koudelka, Thomas Joshua Cooper, 19th century maritime painters, books on weather, car advertisements, and films. All of these more or less coalesce as the work moves on, but I always end up abandoning photos and references and letting imagination and the marks take over. There's always a leap of faith: perhaps the next piece will be breathe on its own. Maybe not. In this way, my painting is as much about belief (what is already there) as it is about exploration.