Home | Gacono

DR

CARL

GACONO

STYLES

A

Abstract

A combined use of form, color, line, texture, pattern, composition and process to present ideas and evoke emotions in a nonlinear fashion.

F

Figurative

A painted representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant.

L

Landscape

Natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view.

S

Still Life

A painting featuring an arrangement of inanimate, everyday objects.

Artist Statement

"I paint what I feel."

The emotional appeal of the Abstract expressionistic or process painting stems from the manner in which it mirrors life itself. My paintings begin absent a destiny. A single color, line, drip, becomes the starting point. The “inner eye” scans/processes the canvass--another color, perhaps a dot or a line beckons. Additions to the canvass guide what comes next.

The painting develops a life of its own. The process creates a musical composition. A melody of form and color resulting in harmony. I do paint music.

There are no mistakes, like unpredictable events in life, things enter the painting that shape its course. The artist struggles with the painting, while having faith in the process. The artists only enemy is fear, the fear of letting go.

Like life, the only goal—an existential one, is to achieve a spiritual harmony, to have the painting “work”. My accumulated experiences, including--suffering, loss, joy, struggle to integrate and become an integral part of what contributes to the paintings. My personal history, including the ability to connect to the collective unconscious become one’s “nature” from which the painting grows. As Pollack once stated, “I am nature.” In this fashion, movement, emotion, conflict, and resolution, “shape” the painting

The relationship between myself and the canvass is one of give and take. It is fluid. It requires the suspension of will and ego, creating an openness to energy and a consciousness beyond myself. Evolving from ones’ inner “nature” a feeling of harmony resides in the finished painting

When you view one of my paintings understand that while I did the work, my unconscious, perhaps manifest in dreams, was at work. You are experiencing the end result of the painting process. With each painting I revisit the process experiencing a sense of heaven—a spiritual connection. In creating the harmony, I experience where my soul rests between lives. A place we all spiritually belong.

So should one of these paintings speak to you consider that you have allowed yourself, through my work, to be connected to something greater--in the process having a glimpse into my soul—a shared intimacy. You get a glimpse of a process that, in some form, is a potential in each of us. It aids one in momentarily connecting with the heaven within and beyond. It fosters hope as we are reminded that there is something beyond the suffering and conflict of this material world. You “borrow” the spiritual process that created the painting. Hence, the painting speaks to, touches you, and offers hope and a similar sense of integration.

Should one of my paintings speak to you, try meditating on your reaction to the painting—your feelings and internal experience. What does it tell you about yourself? Allow the painting to bring you peace but use it as a stimulus for your own growth and awakening the creative process within.

What price can you put on the painting if it speaks to you? Carrying the painting into your home, you can use it for a daily boost or you can develop a deeper understanding and use the painting as a stimulus to begin or further your own spiritual journey. Consider that you are buying a glimpse at heaven and a part of the artist’s soul. Cherish both.

Formally, my art is anchored in a rich art tradition beginning with Cezanne and the impressionists, through Van Gogh and Gauguin (post-impressionists), resting with Matisse and the Fauves–Kirchner and the Expressionists, through Picasso, and taking residence within the abstract expressionism tradition (Pollack & DeKooning). In 2005-2006 I demonstrated my gratitude to these influential artists by painting a series of Fauvist/Expressionistic portraits which included their likenesses.

I am always grateful to mentors such as Phillip Wade, Eve Larson, & Jonas Gerard, who have shaped my work by encouraging the development of my own brush. Each instructor has added important elements to my growth as a painter. In summary, my paintings express what I feel, who I am.

Carl B. Gacono, Ph.D., ABAP

Author/Artist

DR