Abstract Sketch, Clay Johnson
Abstract Sketch, Clay Johnson

Lately I’ve been exploring some ideas with regard to form and (at times) representation. I have always been an abstract painter, so on a personal level I have some interest in seeing what would happen if I were to actually represent something—if I were to paint a picture “of something.” What would that something be, and how would I represent it? These initial experiments simply take the first step by creating an object/ground scenario, something that is almost entirely absent in the series that I’ve been working on for the last several years. I would have to say that anything approaching realism is out of the question because for me painting is an exercise in self-expression and improvisation that is not compatible with the obligation to make things look “correct.” Even representing objects in any sense at all may prove more restrictive than I can abide, but for now it’s interesting to see what develops. So far I’ve found that I’m drawn to images (shapes) that are not recognizable as things that I see around me, but which convey certain familiar attitudes and are subject to the natural forces (laws of physics) that govern elements in the physical world.