Unconstrained

Light and Motion, acrylic on canvas

New Paintings by Elizabeth Schwartz

I recently had the opportunity to interview Elizabeth Schwartz about her new body of work on exhibit at WSG gallery.  Here is an excerpt:

Q:  Your last big show at WSG was about 2 years ago.  How has your approach to your work changed in that time?

A: This show is similar to my last in that the paintings are totally non-representational, containing no images of recognizable objects.

What is different is that these new works have open, peaceful, and quietly neutral spaces, where earlier paintings were filled with color, line, shape and texture.  I can’t really say I prefer one series over the other.  This was simply a challenge that I posed for myself.

My process continues to be one of intuitive spontaneity, energy, and creating textural layers of paint.

Q:  You have used very little red in this body of work – it’s still there, but only sparingly in the pieces in the show.  Could you talk about that a bit?

A: I LOVE RED, as my earlier work illustrates.  However, I couldn’t reconcile using much red with the notion of “peaceful, quietly neutral spaces”.  So along with the challenge of creating those spaces was the challenge of limiting my use of red.

Aerial, acrylic on canvas

Q:  Do you work on more than one painting at a time?  If so, why and how do those paintings affect one another?

A: Occasionally I do, when I feel “stuck” or when I’m waiting for paint to dry.  And I know a lot of artists do work on several paintings at a time.

 But I really prefer to immerse myself in only one painting at a time.  I find that, since my paintings are unplanned, that immersion is required for me to really “KNOW” what the painting is going to say.

If I don’t know what to do next, I walk away and return, or I stare at it for a long time until an idea arises.  Sometimes this will result in my making a single mark on the canvas that will resolve what I was struggling with.

Rock Form Ramble 2, acrylic on canvas

Q:  You are an avid meditation practitioner.  How do you feel that has affected your painting practice?

A: Although not consciously, I think my meditation practice has probably led to my wish to create quiet spaces in my paintings.