We humans would like to view life as a series of patterns, easily digestible black & whites. Two sides of a coin. Pain/pleasure, light/dark, togetherness/loneliness. A friend likes to call these “pancakes”. But as we talked for hours driving from Portland to the coast and back, we agreed: life is not full of simple pancakes. Maybe waffles. Or maybe there are many layers to the pancakes that we just can’t see.

• 3.75x5”

• gouache + watercolor + oil based paint marker on board

• UV protective varnish 

I’ve been painting these shapes and lines as a practice in creating within extreme restraint. I’m used to relying on words and letterforms, things I understand well, to communicate. I’m used to being able to get all the art supplies (surfaces, colors) I need from a store. Instead, I’m only using materials I already have with me in Portland. These are my attempts at better understanding the subtleties of simplicity as I downsize my belongings as well.