Margaret Zox Brown

As I have evolved as an artist, I have gone through various transitions and have curiously ended up near to where I began. The Still Life was my first love in terms of paintings. I have always been drawn to the evocative simplicity inherent in a subject so basic and familiar in art.

                Originally I explored painting with a focus on the representational object. With the 2 dimensional canvas becoming more apparent to me as my muse, my subjects actually evolved from impressionist interpretations to expressionist ones. With the essence of the paint itself, the journey of my paintings has passed from representational to pure abstraction and arriving now somewhere in the middle. And, what I have ultimately created is quite simply the emotion behind whatever it is I am expressing.

                Loose black and white sketches are the bases for all my paintings. I copy them onto each canvas that I have already given a wash of colors from my entire palette. These drawings combined with my initial spectrum of color then become a template from which the painting will emerge. With a thorough, thoughtful, daring and intense exploration of color, I take my initial ideas and deconstruct them and add to them over and over until they come together as whatever it is I am feeling and then expressing. While color is my true subject, ultimately, I try to choreograph a harmonious, graceful dance between all elements; color, emotion, line and shape, paint application, light and depth, subject and mood.

                My goal with each painting is for it to be rich and thought provoking and stimulating. There should be moments of excitement, a rush as well as moments of calm and familiarity. Whether it is the beauty I see in nature, the serenity I feel when observing a Still Life or the intrinsic nature of the human spirit, I am driven to express the essence of whatever it is, what it feels to me. I am genuinely exhilarated by each new painting and feel successful in portraying my passion.