Claire Edna Hurrey’s Artist Statement 2013: 25 Years of Painting
The two images below give an idea of the expanse my visual journey has taken in the last 25 years.
(Please look through my website galleries for a more extensive exhibit of my work.)
My goal in the past five years has been to create work without ambiguous space. I draw, paint, and work in clay, to think through the process of what is seen and what is not seen; and how what is not seen is equally foundationally present and essential to what is seen.
In this process of discovery through a mapped visual journey, it became apparent that not all points in space were important in the translation of three-dimensional objects onto a two-dimensional surface. In fact, the measuring of some points is not only irrelevant to a representational translation but could in fact detract or mislead the illusion to a flatter appearance.
My work has spanned contemporary expressionistic intuitive gesture as finished product with flat to ambiguous space to traditional skills in accurate drawing and painting in spatial illusion. Now I play with my skills to find what objects interest me, and delight in my abilities to translate three- dimensional objects onto a two-dimensional surface with accuracy.
I consciously think how I can use the skills I possess to visually present my idea, like looking for just the right word to express my meaning. I write notes and draw sketches as I work. I keep recipes for colors as I mix them for reference later. I record changes in composition, or object, or light direction to make for the next drawing or painting. I note what worked and what didn’t to convey my meaning, and what visual images cross my mind for later work. A sketch book is near my bed to record visual thoughts when I awake. I work with a small group of artists for critique and feedback on each other’s work.
The first 4 images are small visual poems.
