Medium:
Acrylic on canvas, occasionally mixed media.
Finish:
Acrylic gloss medium with final coats of Liquitex Soluvar
varnish.
Technique:
My paintings happen in two stages. In the first stage I apply paint when the canvas
is flat, painted with a background, and has been flooded with water.
This stage can be complete in a matter of days, or take months.
Application of the paint to the "wet" surface is a similar to both the
wet in wet technique of watercolorists and the splatter technique
immortalized by Jackson Pollock. This process
allows the paint to evolve and flow in extremely free and organic
patterns, of which I have only partial control of the final result. This
technique opens the door, so to speak, for other forces to enter
into the creative process. How one views this aspect of my technique,
and the forces involved, depends completely on their own
model of reality. "Accident", "co-incidence", "chaos theory", "spiritual forces", "angelic
influences" are words and phases that I have
heard from others in describing what goes on. In the final
analysis however, what matters is the end product, not how it happens.
All I know is it works for me, and is the most liberating and
joyful way I have discovered to getting it done.
What I attempt to do is well described by one of my reviewers in 1986, Mother Placid, Mother Superior and Art Director of the Benedictine Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, CT. "The process of painting itself is for Pantas part of his exploration into the unknown for he attempts to work with the prevailing natural and creative spiritual energies of the universe flowing though him in interaction with the media and the environment. This is a method that is akin to the artistic disciplines of the ancient Zen Masters in their paintings and works of calligraphy. It is also in accord with the latest discoveries of Modern Quantum Physics which recognize the active participation of the subject continually participating in the co-creation of objective reality."
The second stage involves working with the canvas in the
traditional vertical format on the easel. Before this stage is started
however, I first analyze the incomplete work that has resulted from
Stage1 to determine what has happened, and what I am then compelled to
draw out and finish, much like a sculptor looks at a rock or piece of
wood to determine "what is in there". This last stage may take a month
or years.
