T.R. Mockler

One often hears, “The painting took on a life of its own.” I take this as meaning the work stimulates an internal dialogue with the artist. The artwork is a record of that engagement, be it a confrontation or a communion. The painting starts with a nonchalant glimpse, expanding a spontaneous moment into a glance, that eventually leads to a sustained gaze in the impressionistic tradition. There begins a 3-way play between the subject matter, the surface of the canvas and myself. I use my innate color palette, sense of temperature over value, combined with gesture and mark. This is why I choose to work from direct observation, thus allowing me to convey both the sensations of intimacy and expansion with my work in landscape. The resulting image need not be a measure of all perceivable things, i.e., an inventory of objects, but is instead a response to the experience of being there, establishing a sense of place. Painting, for me, is like a sport; it combines the “sacred seriousness of play” with the joy of being in the game. The best game never ends. It is life itself.