Clint Metcalf – Artist Statement

I am a process man. I find that all new work comes from the work that came before. Through the use of strokes, scrapes and dots, I pull images of vibrant color and movement out of the black void of my canvases.  But before any brush touches canvas, I have sketched copiously and journaled about my motivation for each piece.  All my canvases start with black grounded gesso. I like that the grounds in this gesso pull the color off the brush, aiding in my impasto style of painting.

A wash-like foundation of opaque color then sets the emotion of the painting. My work tends to vacillate between aggressive and gestural or shimmering and delicate. Through this choice of emotion, my paintings can be described as “alive with color, curve and form, the elements seemingly one moment away from running riot over the canvas – and perhaps not stopping there “ (Steve Brisendine, “Chaos, Carefully Controlled “, artkc365,  May 7, 2009) to an “almost ethereal experience [with] subtle color variation that gives the canvas a hazy, airy feel.” (Adam Crowley, “Epic Swirls, Controlled Energy”, ereview,  March 23, 2010).

I ascribe to the ethics of the New York School painters, believing that all good work comes through hard work. I follow Chuck Close’s theory that, “inspiration is for amateurs, the rest of us just show up and get to work.”