Painting has always interested me above all other artistic disciplines, from the luscious physicality of the paint, to the endless possibilities for color. For me, color is at the root of everything I do. I’m always looking for creative ways to incorporate unusual bits of color into the most unexpected areas of my paintings. The more I play with color, the more a painting takes shape. I enjoy using representational subjects because they inspire me to explore dualities; patterns and scribbles, highlights and shadows, historical and contemporary, for example, while giving the work an overall sense of purpose. I often begin with a formal sketch, but then I allow the work to unfold from there.
My newest figurative work hints at historical portraiture, echoing my on going fascination for the elaborate costumes of those eras. I paint fanciful clothing that may suggest the French Renaissance period, Elizabethan styles or Spanish Vaquero times. In this spontaneous and playful way, I aim to soften my subjects starched collars and have them relax their stuffy facades, painting society’s past, prideful veneers into a fresher, and much more benevolent context.
Constance Bachmann