June Rollins
ArtSync Writer
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June Rollins |
Artist Statement
I paint because I have to. It is a pull, deep within me that won’t be denied. My art is filled with surprises often brought about by happy accidents. But with each endeavor, there are discoveries of technique that further my development in the next work. I consider creating art a gift of grace.
The subjects of my paintings choose me more than I choose them. They come from varied, unexpected sources often surprising me with their insistence. It could be three onions, each a different color, while I am grocery shopping or a carpenter pencil sticking out of my husband’s back pocket.
Often I will have my camera with me and take photos of what moves me. The photos lie in a storage bin incubating. Sometimes I have waited 5 years before painting the subject.
I mainly work in watercolor and endeavor to explore and bring about its seemingly unlimited transformations, which involve learning to get out of the way and let the painting paint itself. From thin transparent soft-edged washes to hard-edged intricate textures, watercolor is presently my choice of mediums in expression.
Watercolor allows me to treat the paper differently to best express what the subject wants to say. Often, I saturate the paper front and back and pour in transparent pigments, tilting the paper back and forth encouraging the colors to blend. As the paper is drying, the subject is lifted out. This technique uses only a minimal amount of brushwork near the end. Another favored technique is when the paint is poured and the paper tilted, but onto dry paper instead of wet, creating intricate hard edges.
As I continue my artistic/spiritual journey I find myself having an increasing interest in additional water media, such as gouache and acrylic. I’ve also been experimenting with pastels and collage. Oh, and let’s not forget about oils.
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.” --Antione De Saint-Exupery