Art

Item Description

To truly appreciate this incredible work of art, please read the artist's statement that follows.

My paintings are a language unto themselves where forms give way to vibrant color, shape, rhythm, depth, and the lively discourse between light and dark, the feelings beneath words which speak as much to the soul as to the mind. And because they are not so much copies of things as events in themselves, the paintings invite viewers to participate, to bring in their own experiences, perceptions, stories, and emotions. They are not monologues but dialogues. They are not only paintings, but reflecting pools.

I began painting when I moved from Los Angeles to the isolated coastal village of Trinidad in northern California, a place that encouraged me to turn inward and begin a deeper dialogue with myself that is still so integral a part of my life and my paintings.

My artwork is a spontaneous conversation between me and what I put on canvas, similar to musical improvisation. Once the first stroke is down, I become committed to the process and it takes on a drama of its own. As with life, I work with what presents itself, allowing for both light and dark, mystery and grace.

Recently, I’ve made a radical change in technique, from easel-painting to painting on raw, unprimed canvas on the floor, pouring, staining, scraping, scratching, denting---and allowing for the always-present influence of chance. Also, instead of using traditional brushes, I’m using spatulas, squeegees, sticks, combs, brooms, tin foil, fabric, things that help me build up layers and create unusual textures. It’s the difference between making deliberate marks and shapes and creating conditions that allow the marks and shapes to naturally form themselves.

Through various techniques, and a balance between guiding the materials and letting the materials guide me, I’m working to emulate natural processes like weathering, wind, rain, tectonics, erosion, volcanics, in order to create the kinds of patterns, designs and rhythms that reveal themselves when you view nature either from a microscopic perspective or from orbital distance. My intention is to capture the rhythms and essences that pulsate inside things. Similar to Jackson Pollock’s philosophy, I’m not painting nature so much as I am nature, painting.

My primary influences are the natural world and the inner world. On one hand: mottled light in the forest, the interiors of rocks, the color of rust on an old shovel, cracks in the sidewalk. On the other hand: emotional states, the melancholy of a rainy day, the awareness of the vastness of the universe. The amazement that our world and it’s infinite beauty, complexity and intelligence exists at all.

R. Sierra’s paintings are in corporate, public and private collections in the U.S. and abroad.

Image size: 24x36

Framed image: 37x49 (Frame included)

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