With my art, I aspire to offer a sense of spaciousness, an opening, an invitation to contemplate the nature of life and explore what underlies the material world. My paintings and drawings feature figures, parts of figures, everyday objects, mysterious blobs, repetitive shapes and patterns. The images may be inspired by music, nature, the body, meditation. I use these images to construct installations, spawn interactive projects, build groupings, or display individually.

Every act involved in creating an artwork is of equal importance to me. I work best when I give mindful attention to each step: selecting the papers, tearing or cutting them, laying out my palette, blending new colors, applying the paint, creating groupings or installing the work. It seems natural to me that the artist’s state of being shines through the work as much as the physical materials used. My intent is to offer reflective state of being with each piece.

As I draw or paint, my mind drifts into another place. Images spring up, surprising me with their strangeness, humor, and curious, quiet power. Gleaned from perception of the quotidian – objects, animals, interactions, food, clothing, and emotions – the images defy logical interpretation. Another practice in my studio is to paint marks and shapes in careful, focused repetition. This calms my mind and slows my thoughts. Changing in size and scale and richly hued, the images hint at rhythms in nature.

When two or more of these pieces are grouped together, they may imply a narrative. A field of blue marks hints at another world or dimension, shiny red blobs are an object of intrigue for a bent-over woman, dark sandpaper with a hole invites a mysterious figure forward, small triangles may be trees…or are they a stairway to another dimension?

Michele Théberge  2007