2018-2020 I started these colour works by spontaneously drawing out horizontal and vertical lines in thin willow charcoal on bright white grounds. I could then erase and redraw the lines up or down, to the left or right, adding or subtracting until a free-flowing feeling was attained. I painted each shape in multiple layers, adjusting tone, contrast, saturation and hue using thin coats of oil colour. For me it expressed an inner vibration, as if I were an instrument playing out a natural rhythm.
One of my favourite activities during this period was to walk from my studio to the top of Mount Royal, overlooking downtown Montreal, where I would watch the sunset and the city lights emerge before heading back to the studio to spend the night painting. I worked from imagination and memory to develop a sense of contrast between the closed-in feeling of the city streets and the vast open space of the sky and distant horizon.
