statement

I love the process of making art. I think about design; color, size, shape, etc.; and what I want to express. Regardless of the idea, my approach is to take the first step, then step back and look. I spend more time looking than painting. Looking is when ideas percolate, looking tells you when to stop, and when there is more to do.

The pour technique that I have employed with oils for years now, was inspired by an experiment I did in watercolor. I would spray water directly onto my work surface and introduce paint to the puddles of water. I would lay paper into the paint to pick up the color. I would then add shape or line to the color fields created by the wet paint.

My attempts to create similar textures in oil paint resulted in the pour techniques I use today. At one point, I stopped adding shape and line to the dry color field, and instead created everything through the process of pouring the paint. The canvas is tilted at various angles during the drying process, and at times a piece of paper may be used to create an edge or shape. Color is applied to the surface and may be rinsed with mineral spirits. The result is one of spontaneity and control; planning and intuition. I want to create the feeling of a thing being painted rather than a painted thing.

I work in both watercolor and oil paint and occasionally venture into 3D.
Each media has its own demands, one often informs the other.

Brad Krieger, 2022