When I begin a painting, I have no idea how it will turn out.  I just begin by covering the white background with blobs or brush strokes of paint with no particular thought — just to cover the white background.  Then I paint on top of the first layer, leaving remainders of the original paint if I like it—usually I don’t. I keep doing this, over and over, responding to the previous layer, painting out the parts I don’t like, and leaving the parts I do.  Often a painting will actually be six, eight or ten paintings.  The finished version is the total of all the parts.

It has taken me many years to get to the point where I can paint over a painting I’m working on which I actually like– just to create more layers, which in turn creates depth and dimension.  This is very important to me.  I love the richness, which only numerous layers can create.  I love seeing into the painting, the history of what remains almost unseen; the layering infers mystery, something unclear.

~Karen