One of my main concerns over the past couple of months is in
assessing my own reaction to what I see developing on my canvases.
It's sort of a schizophrenic exercise: look hard at the set-up, try to find
the elements of it that excite and serve to anchor a conscious intention
which will then inform the paint. That kind of intentional looking has to
be maintained throughout the process. But, then, so does looking critically
at the canvas to see if the marks you're making reflect your intention.
Not to work towards getting it accurate but to find something in the canvas
that makes me react to my own work the way I do when looking at the
work of the painters I love.
Looking in both directions should be all of a piece, united in one goal,
but it's so easy to go unconscious and veer off course.
