Sep

18

2018

Rachel Dory

In my work I seek to document “Temples of the Temporary;” site-specific locations that speak at once of permanence and transience in America. I visit, photograph and document locations and loosely base my paintings on these references later in my studio. I produce multiple sketches first in order to familiarize myself with the intimate details of the location, and paint quick studies to determine the composition and color combinations that best represent the feelings and ideas I am hoping to achieve in the individual work.

My palette is typically earthy and muted, with a focus on using colors to portray these locations as part of the surrounding natural landscape. When exploring compositions I am acutely aware of light, shadow and negative space; I sometimes wait hours or revisit a place several times to explore and document the light’s relationship with the location. I have developed a subtractive method of developing my paintings, removing large amounts of detail and never adding objects into a composition that were not there when I visited.

I approach the canvas with a sculptural mindset; I was trained as a sculptor and that experience has carried into my painting. The image emerges for me through multiple sessions in which multiple layers of paint are brushed, wiped, scraped, scored. Painting is a physical process for me, and I will shift gears depending on what I see happening; for example I often scrape with the tine of a fork and later use delicate lining brushes in the same area of the image.

The goal I strive to keep at the forefront during my process from start to finish is to function as a crucible, eliminating “impurities” and excess in order to reach the core. My hope is to produce an image that is true to the location, through which viewers can at once experience stories both personal and universal. I know a painting has succeeded when a passerby stops, backtracks to stop and take a closer look at a painting, and says “I feel like I know that place.”

I currently have paintings in progress of locations in Texas including sites in West Texas, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas and Austin.

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