Art Reboot

108 paintings’, where the process becomes timeless and every paint- ing a dance between artist and medium with neither product nor schedule predetermined. Each painting is approached as if it might take up the rest of my life. One of these days one of them will. Let’s see how this all works in a particular painting, a hand- scroll I painted in ink and watercolour on cloud-dragon paper in the summer of 2010: Seeking but Not Finding the Recluse . It started out as a large rectangular painting worked from both sides of the paper, initially presenting eight possible view- ing options (two sides and four orientations). It ended up, after much scissor-work, as a small handscroll. The early marks, col- ours and textures were redeployed , thus becoming more like those of natural stone, wood and earth than effects contrived by the hand, opening the door to the unintended and unexpected. The final layer of black brushwork responded to this inviting arena, unifying the painting and integrating intention and its absence. Redeployment is a simple technical device which helps the artist to defeat, circumvent or leap beyond limitation. Let go, and Nature paints with you. Traditionally, a long handscroll is composed of sheets of rectangular paper neatly joined vertical edge to edge. But an extension of the redeployment device offers greater potential: employing scissor-work and brushwork, overlapping mountain- ous forms can be cut, placed, moved, turned, cut again, giving great freedom of composition and introducing a sculptural ele- ment to the process. When positioning is settled, the pieces are temporarily fixed in place and the mounter later glues everything