In painting this refined, this sensual, nothing is incidental. Every attribute within the painting has meaning in relation to every other. The flowing, intersecting arabesques, the dynamic positive—negative shapes, the ambiguous figure–ground relationships, all call to mind images of whirling dervishes…the paintings are that joyful. However, one is drawn past the lines, the shapes and the colors right up and into the surface. The thick heavy layers of paint smoothed down with a palette knife and sandpaper create a soft luminous ground contrasting the narrow, impasto lines. Semi-transparent colors with subtle brush marks are next to smooth matte, flat areas. Paint mixes subtly around the lines; layer upon layer upon layer of translucent paint give the feel of smooth heavy fresco. The surface reveals a painting that took time. It grew, evolved and changed…and will continue to do so as the complex compositional interaction is revealed.

Rivington S. Monteagle
Art of Our Time