making the world

A friend of mine recently asked if I indeed use my hands to paint and if so, why. I have given this fact , that I use my hands to paint, some thought and can simply say that using my hands is more direct and sensual than a brush. Perhaps it’s my lack of being able to control the brush to move paint around . Lack of practice. Lack of patience . But then if I get the visual results I seek with the use of my hands why not simply use my hands (and fingers)? I have always used my hands and fingers to manipulate two-dimensional medium. The work feels more real to me this way. I believe I am more directly involved in the creation of the work because I can feel the materials that make the work. As in molding clay, or folding paper. Pencil over the computer perhaps. I also appreciate the remnants and presence of what makes the work. Fingerprints and drags of knuckles across paint. Rather than seek to create work that hides its production method I like the connectivity between what is made and what results. For instance, the spoke shave or chisel for wood work over a highly sanded piece of smooth wood where all obvious marks of hand disappear except the obvious smoothness that results.

I do not reject the paint brush or any other tools that assist the creation of work. But I seek to retain the active memory of our presence when creating art. Sharing ourselves with the rest of humanity.