Although I most frequently work with oil paint and canvases, my initial exploration of these series made it clear that acrylic paint and wood panels were the best choices. Many of the paintings are much worked upon, built up and sometimes scraped back, evoking geologic and psychological processes. The wood panels’ rigid support allows this better than canvas, while the acrylic works better in building up the thick layers found in the smaller paintings.
When shown together the geology-inspired paintings can be paired horizontally on low benches in front of each of four walls. Nine paintings from the shadow-inspired series can hang on each wall. {Show or haave link to photos of sketch and maybe also photos of SH paintings} Sizes vary from 14” by 10-1/2”, slowly increasing up to one 4’ by 3’painting and then decreasing back to 14” by 10-1/2” on the other side, evoking mountains. There can be two benches and therefore four paintings on the benches before each wall; the benches are 2” wider than the paintings. In total there are 8 benches and 16 geology–inspired paintings. There can be 9 shadow-inspired paintings on each wall for a total of 36 Jungian shadow-inspired paintings. Special lighting has been fabricated which can be focused on the geology-inspired paintings and brings out the remarkable changes in appearance of these paintings in different lighting.
Half of the geology-inspired paintings are in the form of what I call “mosaics.” In these the first layers consist of multiple translucent layers of light paint. Subsequently, a thick layer of cliff-like paint is laid down; however, many areas are not covered with the cliff-like paint; these translucent small shapes are the areas I call “mosaics”. It is these “mosaics” that I found have especially breath-taking shifts in appearance, as the light moves from dim to intense.
A third series, “Renga,” is both a subseries of the Jungian shadow-inspired series, “Inner/Outer,” and in a larger form, its own series of the same name. Each painting is inspired by a different short poem by the Tibetan Buddhist, Connee Pike.