Equanimity

Much of my life has been a pursuit of balance as is evidenced in much of my artwork.  Finding a balanced way to manage forces beyond our control is a lifelong journey. Equanimity involves maintaining an inner calm and steadiness regardless of the external circumstances. In Buddhism, equanimity refers to a state of mental balance and even mindedness.

In these paintings, I created initial "intended" balanced compositions prior to painting, laid out the compositions on the substrate, applied paint, then applied external force in the form of water that erodes and degrades the pigment altering the compositions. My challenge was to maintain successful compositions as pigment was erased... essentially creating and adapting to these forces in positive ways that did not denigrate my compositions rendering them unbalanced. In short, my goal was to maintain balance in the face of destructive external forces. An exercise in equanimity. My hope is that this collection creates an awareness of this practice and helps viewers work toward equanimity in their lives.