I started the other hand painting because I wanted to loosen up my artistic practice. For years I had prided myself on the tightness of my digital techniques. But it was time to push myself out of what had become my comfort zone.
The original idea is based on an exercise of using both hands to write letters to myself. The less dominant hand would be the child I was, the dominant hand the parent I wish I had.
Only, I didn’t want to write letters. It was important for me to take ownership and make this exercise my own. By using my other hand to paint, this would be a place where poetry, broken haiku and the innocence of visuals collide.
What started out as an exercise to unlearn years of rigid discipline became a vital part of my current art practice. The more I engaged other hand painting, the more fun I had. Especially when it came to portraying pop-culture icons.
I find that my other hand is more adept at capturing the nature of the subject than the more skilled and accurate right hand. As one can plainly see, the paintings are definitely imperfect. And yet, they are filled with a wit and charm that is reminiscent of a child’s painting. A child going on 40, perhaps.
Other hand painting prints are 16 x 20 inches and offered on museum quality paper.
Is your refrigerator big enough for one of these?