Every painting has its own evolution in the studio. Some are born easily, essentially painting themselves. Others require round after round of uncertain explorations, followed by periods of reflection and trying to ascertain where the painting wishes to go. The final painting may look effortless, but beneath the layers of paint may lie untold hours of frustration. This process of creation is not always a pleasant experience, but I find it fulfilling.
I painted the image above in 2009. At the time it was a rather unusual departure from what I had been making. I eventually put it aside and moved on to other projects. However years later, while showing my art to a studio visitor, I uncovered this piece again. Seeing it with fresh eyes, I was intrigued and decided to revisit this concept as a larger painting.
Initially my idea was to have an 8 foot wide painting comprised of two 2×4 foot panels placed end to end. This required me to add a board to my easel to widen the shelf. As the work progressed however, I decided to make it even longer by adding another 2x4 foot panel on either end, doubling the painting’s width to 16 feet. In another quirk of insanity, I chose to make my knotted freeway be comprised of a single continuous road looping over itself. This presented a challenge as the entire image needed to look consistently dense so the composition would appear balanced. And finally, I still had the laborious task of painting several thousand cars.
The process of painting so many cars took me several weeks. It was a mind-numbing experience, yet oddly meditative. Every day I made a little more headway with the painting, but I felt like kicking myself for undertaking such a tedious project. I had to see it through, however. It felt like a compulsion. This is how I came up with my title, Compulsive Actions. Ironically, now that the painting is finished it seems too small. I have a nagging urge to paint it again, but much larger! Heaven help me.
