Peter H. Begley

I have always worked in series. When I stumble upon a subject for one painting it usually means dozens of paintings and months of work exploring that one idea and its ramifications. In the paintings shown here, there are several distinct sets of works, each set building on the preceding one but each with its own point of departure.

The story of the origin of each of these series is simple and perhaps even too simple, banal, in a word. Of course, it only represents a sudden intuition, a spark that sets off the creative process and signals the beginning of the real work.

And this work consists of building a painting with successive layers of acrylic, oil, and wax. All of this on sheets of rice paper using brushes, knives, spatulas, and rags. Perhaps a complicated technique but one that has gradually evolved, one step forward, one step back, over the years.