artist statement: I live, I breathe, I paint
"art is not just something I do, but something that happens"
visions that I share:
"when I´m painting, I´m not aware of what I´m doing. It is only after a sort of period of time that I see what I have been about. I have no fears about making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the painting comes out well."
(Jackson Pollock)
"An art which isn´t based on feeling isn´t an art at all... feeling is the priciple, the beginning and the end; craft, objective, technique- all these are in the middle."
(Paul Cézanne)
"There is no must in art, because art is free"
(W. Kandinsky)
"I paint in order not to cry"
(unknown, but it could have been me)
"My paintings are metaphors for an inward journey. They are the answer of my life as I experience each new thing along the way. The steps I have taken on the creative path to discovery, the symbols, do not render the experience, they suggest it. I feel that there are infinite ways to express oneself, the canvas is my stage for free expression. I paint vibrant expressive, using pure pigments, to create texture,shapes, compositions and colour coordinations. I´m interested in surprising dynamics, rhythms and relationships. I create series spontaneously, based on techniques and ideas I have been subconsciously developing and refining over the years. When I paint, I need to be alone, to create my own space, because I need to clear all the trivialities of daily life from my mind, which enables me to approach my work with an open and receptive mind, that creates a kind of purity in my work. And I leave my emotions and intuition as my guide in the painting process."
Petra Mattes, painter, Germany
