I'm painting again, after a pretty prolonged period of working in digital media. I realized, despite a few struggles with acrylic after working primarily in oils, that the actual mechanics of technique come back to you fairly quickly. With drawing it was pretty easy to start making images that worked the way I wanted them to. The hardest part of making the transition back to painting is in the way that you think.

It's probably impossible to explain that, other than to say that it's hard to go from thinking within one set of parameters to thinking within another. Painting is much more free, much more physical and, for me... much more rewarding. I'm really happy to be living in the real world once again.

About this last series. I couldn't seem to escape the sort of imagery that I was working with years ago and believe me, I tried. After a bit of a struggle, I went with what was the most natural and seemed to me to be the most successful. I did make some major changes in the way I use color and, thankfully, I'm not plagued by some of the "sophomoric" ideas that used to fill up a lot of the work I did. I'll just chalk that up to personal growth. I do have a lot of ideas as to new directions in which to push things.

I have several series in the works at the moment... one that deals with the idea of conflict and one in which I'm trying to incorporate more of the real world into my imagery. There's also a dozen or so collage/assemblage/sculpture pieces, some drawings, some portraits and so on...

Oh... They look a lot better in real life...

Media: Acrylic on Canvas.
Dimensions: 36x56
Date: September 16, 2009

This is my favorite of my recent paintings. It's an attempt to capture some of the wild energy of the musical form of the same name.

Media: Acrylic on Canvas.
Dimensions: 38x42
Date: September 15, 2009

This is an attempt to work more figurative elements into the imagery I'm working with. There are actually 4 figures in the painting. The intent was to interlock the figurative elements and to give some impression of the idea of "family". {Royal or otherwise.}

Media: Acrylic on Canvas.
Dimensions: 30x36
Date: September 14, 2009

An image of several {very} abstract figures in a mass of organic forms. This began life as the drawing "Promise", which some of you may remember from the "Works in Progress" I had posted here. The "angel" figure just sort of appeared while I was working on this and I decided to go with it.

Media: Acrylic on Canvas.
Dimensions: 36x24
Date: September 13, 2009

This is an image of a figure trapped in a forest-like, organic mass. It's sort of cathartic...

Media: Acrylic on Canvas.
Dimensions: 20x36
Date: September 12, 2009

This is another entry in my "Mother and Child" series. The number's actually a guess. I'm sure there are at least that many variants on this theme. The small head-like object in the bottom corner is becoming something of a common element in my paintings.

My current Artist's Statement

With my painting, I implement the concepts and techniques used by artist's such as Arshile Gorky and Roberto Matta in the transition from late Surrealism to early Abstract Expressionism. I feel this to be an important, slightly “gray” area in art's past which offers a wealth of unexplored ideas that I use to express myself and my impressions of the world around me.

I avoid making contemporary statements in favor of working with ideas that are more basic and that represent a more timeless, metaphorical aspect of art. I use organic forms in order to make images that are more “human” and more analogous to the natural world. I rely heavily on color and line to provide energy and a sense of rhythm.

In an attempt to offer a visual equivalent to music, I employ techniques that range from automatic drawing and painting to collage, decalcomania and paranoiac-critical method. The process is much like that used to create improvisational jazz. My hope is to evoke similar emotions, provide the viewer with similar stimulation and to offer a comparable basis for interpretation and introspection.

- Rick Taylor