Roller Paintings 1999

Roller paintings are paintings made with rollers, sometimes referred to as brayers by people in the print making world. The works in this section of the website were all made with various tools including paint brushes, fingers, etc. But what distinguishes them enough to give them their own section on the website is the fact that they were made with rollers.

Furthermore, the works in this section are all small and all on paper. These are essentially sketches. As sketches they are often among the most intimate things I make and closest to the creative nexus of my efforts to discover how to paint what my creative urges are dictating.

Because there are a lot of these works, I can not write about each one as I have tried to do with each entry in the other sections of this site. I will just say that in addition to being among my most intimate creations, they may be the most intellectually original. Over the course of almost 30 years I have explored the connection between repetition, memory and how we use things like that to construct reality and time. A roller inherently repeats itself with each revolution. And yet it is modified by so many factors that obfuscate, sharpen, replicate and overlap as well as leave untouched space. The possibilities for spontaneous creation and variation are endless. Furthermore, it is fun.

If you are persistent, you can start with the older sub folders and work your way up to the present. You will see how this technique and it’s ideas are inherent in the very beginning but definitely develop in complexity and quality over time. Enjoy!