BRIGID WATSON

ARTIST STATEMENT/BIO

I was 12 when my family stayed in a cabin on Lake Placid, a picturesque lake surrounded by tall evergreen trees. Revisiting the memory conjures the particular smell of the pine needles, the scent of tar on a dock in the hot sun, and the black shadows that make the water infinitely deep. I remember that my sister, then 16, and I were canoeing . A strong front blew in and it was suddenly too strong for us to navigate. In the stress of the moment we began arguing and lost control of our boat, each of us stubbornly refusing to change the side we were paddling on. Eventually, we summoned our most mature selves and worked together to land the boat and escape to safety. Now I recall the turbulent lake both as a poignant symbol and catalyst for my transitioning out of childhood. There is the “before” of bright sun and gentle breeze, and the “after,” of dark clouds and great gusts of wind. It was the dark undercurrent of danger that forced us to pull together. The reason this scene has become a metaphor for me is because I can sense this same kind of tension all around me. Americans are paddling on the lake and without cooperation may drown.

As an abstract painter, my task is interpreting the story of the lake with all of the color and feeling and texture I can summon. Sometimes I paint the moment before and sometimes I paint the time after, but it is always this scene that is as relevant to me personally as it is culturally. I use the traditional format of oil paint on a square canvas. By building up massive layers of highly saturated paint as well as defying the predetermined edges I create organic, sculptural forms. I reject the heroic scale often seen in painterly abstraction and in doing so I transcend the history of white, male-dominated painting. By working on an intimate scale with bold pain I choose to rebel against patriarchal standards. Power comes in many sizes and forms.