Kim English
Capturing the moment
Sometimeslife seems to move so fast, that if I can just capture a moment, a little piece of this world, maybe it can help slow things down to a pace that I can appreciate. I don’t know why I seem to want to hold on to things that are so momentary. I guess I just want to take closer look at what we sometimes fail to notice. That’s why I paint. However, what things look like is only part of the picture. There is certainly more to a scene than just what we see. It’s easy to forget that as a painter. When I’m on-site, I feel connected to
what’s going on around me because I’m part of it. When working in the studio, part of the process is to re-create that connection. That sense of urgency and the idea that everything is constantly changing helps to put myself back in that place, if only for a moment. And capturing “the moment” is what my work is all about. A fleeting effect of light, an interesting gesture or even just the way moving things coalesce, are things that catch my eye. Some of the most interesting moments last for only an instant. A spontaneous approach has always worked the best for me. It doesn’t matter whether I’m standing on a street corner or in my studio, I paint the same way. As I work, and as the essence of the scene begins to emerge, I become less interested in looking at what inspired me and more interested in looking at where I’m going. The work takes on a life of its own. At that point, I step into my painting and work from there. It’s no longer external, it’s internal.