Artist Statement

I make paintings. I love color and movement. I tend to work in different series that all evolve over time rather than sequentially. Each series represents its own type of exploration, with connecting concepts around color and line, nonverbal perception and expression, and a balance between motion and stillness. Sometimes there’s a reference to something recognizable: an imagined or misremembered place, a mythical character, an animal, an action. Sometimes there’s a more abstract reference to a motion or an emotion, which tends to be more invocation than evocation.

I believe art is an act of communication between artist and viewer. No artwork is really complete without viewers bringing their own experience to their perception of a piece. As the artist, it’s my job to create the work that asks to be made, and to make an experience available to the viewer without telling them what to think or feel. It’s the viewer’s job to allow themselves that direct experience. So, spend time with them, let your mind wander in and around, discover things, wonder. What it would feel like to make that mark? What does this color do next to that color? Why do these lines move this way around the canvas? What do the elements on the canvas say to each other? What do you feel when you look into it? Let yourself feel those shapes in the world and dance with them.

"Too Late" by Marcia Santore, acrylic paint on loose canvas, 50.5" x 33" (Figures in Motion series)