Artwork

I like to paint. These artworks are emotional portraits of people I met and who have since departed. I made these paintings for them and for myself, as a form of emotional closure.

I work on cold-pressed watercolor paper, using an airbrush and acrylic gouache.

1. The Suit Has a Leak

Black across the top. Blue and salmon running down the page. Apparently this is what happens when the suit keeps office hours and the paint doesn’t. She guessed it was me. Correct.

2. Warm, With an Asterisk

A black eight-spoked star sits in a soft orange, cream and red field.

Orange, red, a little cream — and a large black asterisk. My friend called this the happy version of the first painting. Happiness, apparently, has a footnote.

3. One Pink Exception

A pale centre is surrounded by muted teal, with one magenta oval near the lower-right corner.

Teal around the edges, room to breathe in the middle, one pink interruption in the corner. We nearly managed a quiet painting.

4. Containment Failed

Black lines hold a dark centre in place. Purple circles it; red leaks through anyway. My friend called it the darkest of the four, and read the caged-in core as the version of me that can’t hold it in anymore. An ambitious containment system. Poor results.

5. After Office Hours

A dark panel and one pale vertical stripe. After all the splashing, even the paint has clocked out.

6. Zaika

Zaika. A whole page of blue, with one small shine in the middle. She called it a love note. Subtlety had apparently left the room.

7. Behind the Frame

A bright blur, a green field, and several borders making sure nothing gets out. She saw a memory you can look at but can’t touch. The frame takes its job seriously.

8. Soft Centre, Strict Border

A soft white centre, surrounded by black and an orange border. She saw something worth protecting. The border seems to agree.

9. An Impossible Roll

Hot pink. Blue loops. Little marked squares that she read as dice. I called the guy impossible. A game of chance with someone who probably disputes the rules.

10. Crossed Twice

Black, white splatter, and two red crosses. She voted this the angriest painting. The shoes underneath declined to comment.

11. The Hard Part

“Now comes the hardest part,” I said. Red drops on cream. Plenty of empty space, and nowhere for the splashes to hide.

12. Who Owns Your Mind?

“Who owns your mind?” A handwritten question on a mostly white page. No answer supplied. Check the tenancy agreement.

13. One Last X

A large white X, a separate stroke, and a few dark dots. She read it as the final mark on the story. Naturally, I had one more painting.

14. Peace, Pending Demolition

White rings, little green figures, an orange glow. She said everything looked finally at peace. I mentioned that I’d offered to have it destroyed. Small difference in interpretation.