Dale Perreault

A new blank 4 X 6" canvas was small enough to be covered by the remaining dollops, and the exercise resulted in a kind of automatic painting experiment—applying varied strokes with no preconceived orientation, and seeing if anything valid would come of it. What emerged in my eyes was a figure strolling in nature, in an attempt to be at one with it, to the point of adopting its immersive colors, but with her confining attire, her trappings as a whole, leaving her perhaps removed from fully attaining that state. An enveloping world of greenery, brooks, watery crossings, careful steps, a shadowy figure in a clearing up ahead, the eye of a cabin window present behind. Never totally at one, but perhaps an instant in a continuum in which other claims persist in intervening. The playwright in me toyed with even more of a narrative spin, such as presenting an unusual object in the forest she might encounter; more specific, yes, but also limiting, and eventually opted out of that approach. Once committed, only a few minor touchups were employed to tighten details, accompanied by a persistent fear of not botching the whole enterprise, respecting the thrill of those first moments, and holding to the intent of a flukish venturing forth. I knew I wanted to find an ornate frame, not only as a color contrast, but to see the frame itself as another corset for the already miniature expansiveness. It’s a frame that doesn’t quite fit. A few minor border details are lost, and for the Cooper Union show, the painting was pushed back in the frame a bit to allow the viewer to look down for more, if they so chose. I learned much from the varied reactions at the show’s opening. A few folks mentioned seeing an underwater scene. The most vividly pithy comment on the piece was that it resembled “a peacock in a blender.” In terms of moving on, I fully intend to continue this technique when floundering or thwarted in future projects, and have tiny blank canvases at the ready, in hope of miniature breakthroughs. Equivalents for playwriting might be fun to consider. The approach broadened options initially only to limit them later in the most satisfying sense, amid choices defining yet liberating.