Intuitions
Debra Kay Guess
Artist Statement: Random. Intuitive. Spontaneous. Unaffected. Imperfect. These are the qualities of natural beauty that fascinate me most. It’s why I paint the way I do.
Much of the rest of my life is organized, planned, scheduled, and checklisted; voluntarily, and in the interest of sanity. It’s my inner engineer, looking after the presence of structure and clarity; the framework that gives my other inner voice – the curious child – the freedom to play; to explore the what-ifs, so-whats, and why-nots. It is the only place I find myself lost in the moment while staying in the present. Where I become completely absorbed, creating something unduplicatable, yet lasting.
Every painting is its own discovery. I rarely begin a piece with an end result in mind or follow a specific reference or inspiration from start to finish. Instead, it comes to me along the way, in some cases only near the end or even afterward. I’m comfortable trusting that experiences and memories that shape my awareness and inform my subconscious will in some way represent themselves on the canvas. How can they not? The inspiration that bubbles up may be a far-off place I’ve travelled to, a birds-eye view from 20,000 feet up, or passing sights through a car window. It might be the colors, random arrangements, and forces of nature, or the rhythms of rural life. Sometimes it’s an expression of hope, joy, loss, betrayal, or some other inner searching.
The beauty of abstraction is that it allows me the spontaneity I crave. I can let go of pretense and strict controls, trusting that the distillation of the inspirations, preferences, gestures, and sensibilities unique to me will guide my painting process. A process where layers of pigment hide and peek, shapes emerge and get knocked back, reflexive markings smear, drips drip, script rambles, outlines appear, and colors find each other or I let them sit quietly alone. Sometimes familiar references appear; most times not.
And when the painting is finished, I invite the viewer to respond rather than rationalize. There’s no requirement to fully understand my inspiration – to uncover specific reference points. More than anything, I would encourage you to thoughtfully consider the visual interest of not only the whole piece, but also the up-close details and excerpts that evidence unplanned, intuitive moments in time. In doing so, I want you to feel – perhaps even be surprised by – a greater awareness of random acts of beauty, of the sublimely subliminal, the perfectly imperfect.
Artist Bio: With a BA in Communications, a Minor in Art, and more than 30 years in marketing, sales and desk jobs, I returned to painting as a creative calling outside the confines of the 8-to-5 routine. Now retired, I paint full-time in my home studio, surrounded by the pastoral countryside of Shelby County, Kentucky, where I live with my life partner of 40 years and counting, and our two high maintenance dogs.
Much of the rest of my life is organized, planned, scheduled, and checklisted; voluntarily, and in the interest of sanity. It’s my inner engineer, looking after the presence of structure and clarity; the framework that gives my other inner voice – the curious child – the freedom to play; to explore the what-ifs, so-whats, and why-nots. It is the only place I find myself lost in the moment while staying in the present. Where I become completely absorbed, creating something unduplicatable, yet lasting.
Every painting is its own discovery. I rarely begin a piece with an end result in mind or follow a specific reference or inspiration from start to finish. Instead, it comes to me along the way, in some cases only near the end or even afterward. I’m comfortable trusting that experiences and memories that shape my awareness and inform my subconscious will in some way represent themselves on the canvas. How can they not? The inspiration that bubbles up may be a far-off place I’ve travelled to, a birds-eye view from 20,000 feet up, or passing sights through a car window. It might be the colors, random arrangements, and forces of nature, or the rhythms of rural life. Sometimes it’s an expression of hope, joy, loss, betrayal, or some other inner searching.
The beauty of abstraction is that it allows me the spontaneity I crave. I can let go of pretense and strict controls, trusting that the distillation of the inspirations, preferences, gestures, and sensibilities unique to me will guide my painting process. A process where layers of pigment hide and peek, shapes emerge and get knocked back, reflexive markings smear, drips drip, script rambles, outlines appear, and colors find each other or I let them sit quietly alone. Sometimes familiar references appear; most times not.
And when the painting is finished, I invite the viewer to respond rather than rationalize. There’s no requirement to fully understand my inspiration – to uncover specific reference points. More than anything, I would encourage you to thoughtfully consider the visual interest of not only the whole piece, but also the up-close details and excerpts that evidence unplanned, intuitive moments in time. In doing so, I want you to feel – perhaps even be surprised by – a greater awareness of random acts of beauty, of the sublimely subliminal, the perfectly imperfect.
Artist Bio: With a BA in Communications, a Minor in Art, and more than 30 years in marketing, sales and desk jobs, I returned to painting as a creative calling outside the confines of the 8-to-5 routine. Now retired, I paint full-time in my home studio, surrounded by the pastoral countryside of Shelby County, Kentucky, where I live with my life partner of 40 years and counting, and our two high maintenance dogs.
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Public Gallery Hours
Wednesday 12pm-5pm
Thursday 12pm-5pm Friday 12pm-5pm Saturday 12pm - 5pm Viewings also available by appointment |
The Loudoun House
209 Castlewood Dr. Lexington, Ky. 40505 Email: [email protected]
Phone 859-254-7024 |
All Lexington Art League programs are made possible through the generous support of LexArts.
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The Kentucky Arts Council, a state arts agency, provides operating support to the Lexington Art League with state tax dollars and federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support provided by Lexington Parks & Recreation.
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A yearly online giving challenge from the Bluegrass Community Foundation.
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