Arundel Contemporary

When I start on a piece, the only way I can make a mark is if something has made a mark on me first, which then compels me to action. Then there is the drawing, the starting point to build from which connects what I see and what I discover in the act of seeing. There is a point in the progression of each piece when the subject, once drawn, is denied and the work takes over, assumes its own life. The line becomes its own truth and the viewer’s gaze is drawn away from the figure, the flower, the landscape and placed firmly on the canvas, whence the struggle then begins. I strive for an image of strength, simplicity and physicality, at all times in reverence to the subject.

Debra Sweeney