Artist Statement

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Although the differences between my figurative and abstract work may make them appear incongruous, they are actually closely related.
My interest in painting began with the figures of Caravaggio, Da Vinci and other Old Masters. Inspired by their tremendous skill, I learned to draw from observation. I wanted to add to the dialogue that they created
Instead, I tried to make paintings that differed from reality. The goal was to paint about the world, but to alter the world to emphasize certain keys ideas.

Being a fan of science and nature as a child, I loved to take things apart and see how they worked, then put them back together again. This is what I did with my paintings. I drew thin vertical lines to serve as a metaphoric skeleton, then began to alternate thin washes of acrylic paint with layers of thick, glossy acrylic varnish. The result was a surface that was translucent, resembling skin.
In between the layers were drips and circles, standing in for cells, molecules and atoms, as well as stars in the night sky. I allowed the paint dictate forms, letting it glop and accumulate according to gravity and viscosity. I figured that the laws of nature could probably make more interesting lines and shapes than I could imagine.
While I worked on these figure paintings I would often try out new ideas for texture and other effects on smaller

panels. It was not unusual for there to be 3 to 4 figure paintings on the studio wall and 5 to 6 small texture studies strewn about my work table. The studies informed my larger works and allowed me to play with the paint. At some point, it occurred to me that I should not consider the small abstract paintings“studies,”but complete works in their own right. In addition, my fascination with nature, fluid motion, microscopic structures, began to take a prominent role in the direction of the paintings. I wanted to make paintings that would display my enthusiasm and interest in the complexity of the natural world, with its chemical bonds and decomposing compounds and apparent chaos.
I am now attempting to re-integrate the figure back into these abstractions, as seen in Cloud and other works. I am also beginning to think about the simple, math-based structures, like honeycombs, that appear over and over again in the microscopic world. This is the point of departure for many of the drawings that are featured on the Drawings page. There is much work to do.

-Alec De Leon