Vera Curnow, CPSA
Artist Statement
Or Sometimes the Tail Wags the Dog
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After 22 years in the corporate world, I finally scaled the wall to pursue the images that lurked in the recesses of my mind... and then I called it Art (and therefore it was). The intent of this quixotic quest (spanning over 25 years now) was to find my reality and to express it in my visual voice -- which ended up being a paradox of whispers and roars (…and so it goes.)
My artwork falls into three general categories: |
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The first is influenced by external needs. It consists of commissioned artwork (i.e., I draw your dog on a pillow), and then there is the artwork I do with an eye toward a broader market (i.e., I draw a dog on a pillow.) Without this category (that I affectionately call “rent”), the following two could not exist. |
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A more intimate calling for internal catharsis motivates the second genre. The paintings in this category are rife with metaphors that visually narrate my personal journey– whether joyful or traumatic (i.e., I am the dog). The work’s ambiguous depiction leaves room for your interpretation as to any intent, content or resolution – after all, at this point, it is as much your painting as it is mine. It is in this category that I steadfastly hold true to my artistic integrity. While I’m often surprised by the answers that emerge from these works, I am more amazed by the new questions they evoke. |
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Lastly, there is the lure into the abyss of “What If…?” No roadmap, formula, predisposed assumptions or self-consciousness. This artwork is more about the process than the product and any dog is purely serendipitous. Now is when I mute the volume on external messages, critiques, and expectations. Here is where my muse and I plunge into a cranial journey without a destination. By venturing through this open passage into the unknown, I can cultivate that elusive element called “creativity” and separate the Technician from the Artist. |
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