This is a story about me: a palette I’ve drilled into over the last couple of years, and an attempt to edit down, or remove unneeded elements. I wanted it to be a minimal series, and I think it could become more so, but here’s where I’m at.

It’s abstracted, as I’ve been doing in the last series, Future Wanderings, minimal, more than before, and constrained by color, while being more like me than prior work. Just like me, the first drafts were rough, until smoothed over with lots of editing. The results are tranquil, with a few surprises, and hints of the turmoil of the process almost covered up.

But, how does that make it like me? Let’s have a look at my story.

My story

Two paths in a wood, you say? Is one labelled “The Hard Way”? Yep, that’s the one I want. Eventually, I figure out how to make things simpler, or clearer, as I go along. Each iteration of my life and my art has been that way.

I chose a non-traditional path, in technology, heavy in math. High school nudges to take home economics? I ignored them. Extra science classes and math at summer school? Yes please! It suited my brain, and was a good match for career options.

I chose to move away from my family and friends, heading to the Pacific Northwest, to close the gap on a long-distance relationship, and continue a career in tech, a wiser choice than usual in retrospect. Leaving the great job I had and the friends I’d made was hard, a leap, but thirty-plus years later, it’s been a wonderful adventure. Better!

I chose to switch careers, within tech, and then without it, refining each time. When I moved west, I went from coding to testing, and then shook it up again. Back to school I went, for a Masters degree, while working the whole time, and emerged a technical editor. Not easy, but better, more aligned with my brain.

The final improvement added art back into my life, in small bursts with classes, and time snuck in between parenting. Finally, I put art and technology together, and attacked the monster that is Adobe Photoshop.

I had an idea that I could combine multiple photographs in layers. Over time, I incorporated art from the classes I was taking: printmaking, collage, work from sketchbooks. The layers added up, the compositions got more complicated. I tried reducing, then removing photography and representation.

Time for a round of simplification.

What if I also took out a lot of the detail? Art that speaks to me the loudest is usually quiet, but with intriguing details when you look closely. Lots of texture, lots of evidence of layers of thought processes hiding just below the surface. Like the introvert that I am, but get me started on a topic I know well? Come closer!

The series

This series, then, is a simplification: of composition, of elements, and of palette. It’s a reflection of who I am, who I think we all are — interesting details, hidden below the surface, and many years of decisions adding up to who we are now.

See all the pieces in my latest series here, and let me know how you think they should manifest in the world.