artist statement

When I started painting in 2007, I wanted to have the best opportunity to solve formal problems such as composition, shape, color and texture.  I knew that I needed to have the ability to move shapes around.  I was also interested in paper, especially handmade.  I wanted to make something beautiful by integrating dissimilar patterns and images.  To integrate all of these ideas, I chose collage as my method.

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My first intension was to create abstraction but as I continued my work I started to incorporate recognizable images.  I feel like my work has a feminine sensibility since I have used Geishas, flowers, birds and butterflies.

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I use acrylic paint, bottle caps, sticks, colored pencils and painted string and a lot of handmade paper from Thailand, China, Japan and Nepal.  I paint exclusively on paper in various sizes.  

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I tear paper and squeegee paint incorporating whatever accidents that appear.  Using twisted paper and painted string allows me to blur two and three dimensional elements which belies my admiration for fiber art and a desire to create texture.  

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With every painting, I try to push the envelope; I want to be more bold, take more risks and experiment with new techniques.

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B.L. Schwartz

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