ARTIST'S STATEMENT

One of the things that amazes me most in creating art is the movement of my hands in the paint, they seem to become like magic wands conjuring up scenes.  It is an exhilarating and joyful experience to see how pouring and splashing colors onto canvas leads to an exciting range of images and multiple interpretations of my work. Curiosity and exploration are some of the components of the creating process. While I keep an open mind, I sometimes close my eyes to express my deepest feelings, accessing my inner self and getting in touch with the source of creation. It is exciting, sometimes liberating, often painful and always surprising.

I am engaged in an elemental endeavor in this world, physically taking the raw material of pigment mixed with oil or water, and turning it into something transformational, both for myself and the viewer. I enjoy the lusciousness of the paint, the movement, the textures, the play between light and darkness. Sometimes I use thick, creamy oil paint, smearing it with my fingers and palette knife, piling layers over layers and scraping away, finding different arrangements of new worlds and suggestions of time.

My work expresses something inexplicable – feeling, sensation, emotion and spirituality. The various levels and layers of paint correspond to different possible interpretations of the work. This presents an opportunity for new ways of seeing and understanding the familiar – refreshing form of communication that enhances the experience of ordinary life.

I want to share the sense of discovery that I feel, the dynamic passion, energy flow and color vibration, to connect the viewer with a greater sense of self and place in the world.

- Yoram Raanan