STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Paint is a vehicle I use to search for the unknown; the image I cannot name. In my search, the process becomes becomes the image. I build up the surfaces then tear them away, using rags, sandpaper, steel wool and knives. I let a layer of paint beneath bare itself or I let it remain partially veiled. The texture and sense of history is a consequence of this process. My most recent work is characterized by strong color as well as texture. I use both abstract shapes and the human figure as integral elements in an all over composition. My motivation comes not from a desire to represent an image but a desire to reveal an image as if the form were emerging from the canvas. My brush strokes become a reaction to an inner impulse. The inspiration might come from nature, memory, an historical event. I don't question the source. My paintings are not about something; they are something. ROSEMARY ALLEN 2001