Artist's Statement*
I feel that reality is an illusion. The only reality is God. The actual physical presence of a thing, creature or person is fleeting and unstable. Even things we think of as permanent such as mountains are actually disintegrating before our eyes. The process is just so slow that our short lives cannot comprehend it. I am concerned with essence in my art - the essence of an animal, a human being, the land, objects and even the things built by man and this includes the dimension of time. There is truth, not reality, but truth to be found there and I seek to know and to show that truth. For me it is tantamount to the search for where we come from, why we are here and where we are going.
Donray
February 26, 2010
Comments and Thoughts on the artist statement and on categorization
*I have avoided formulating much of an artist statement in times past. It took me a long time of working to even understand my own art. I feel now that I am just beginning to understand it. Moreover, I reject the labels that have been placed upon me by those who have written about my work. While some of what has been written about my art contains a measure of truth the labels are meaningless. I acknowledge the influence of some artists that have come before me, but I am not an "expressionist" nor am I a "surrealist," a "fauvist" or a "futurist." My goals and aspirations are different from those who were categorized as such and so is my art. If I have borrowed anything from any of those artists or movements, it has been to use as components to forge a new form of expression that is my own.
I feel that reality is an illusion. The only reality is God. The actual physical presence of a thing, creature or person is fleeting and unstable. Even things we think of as permanent such as mountains are actually disintegrating before our eyes. The process is just so slow that our short lives cannot comprehend it. I am concerned with essence in my art - the essence of an animal, a human being, the land, objects and even the things built by man and this includes the dimension of time. There is truth, not reality, but truth to be found there and I seek to know and to show that truth. For me it is tantamount to the search for where we come from, why we are here and where we are going.
Donray
February 26, 2010
Comments and Thoughts on the artist statement and on categorization
*I have avoided formulating much of an artist statement in times past. It took me a long time of working to even understand my own art. I feel now that I am just beginning to understand it. Moreover, I reject the labels that have been placed upon me by those who have written about my work. While some of what has been written about my art contains a measure of truth the labels are meaningless. I acknowledge the influence of some artists that have come before me, but I am not an "expressionist" nor am I a "surrealist," a "fauvist" or a "futurist." My goals and aspirations are different from those who were categorized as such and so is my art. If I have borrowed anything from any of those artists or movements, it has been to use as components to forge a new form of expression that is my own.