An artist’s statement,  that is,  a statement ostensibly meant to explain why he or she does what they do and what underlying meaning is contained in a body of work,  is something I would be very reluctant to undertake.   My work is very personal and does not bear a lot of discussion.   What gets painted is sort of what wants to get painted,  if that concept is not too metaphysical.   Some would say I paint for the pure heck of it.   

Once I was an art student,  with the expectation that I would achieve riches and fame as the world’s best abstract expressionist painter,  but was brought up fast and hard by the exigencies of supporting myself and later,  my family,  in a world which did not care much one way or the other about abstract expressionism.   Years later,  finding myself in a position with the time and facilities to return to my first passion,  I paint pretty much whatever I feel at the time.

I have to admit that I consider a lot,  if not most,  of the art that I see as pure crap,  except for my own work of course.    A friend once asked,  at an art festival of mostly bad stuff,  "Who's to say what is and what isn't good art?",  and I replied "I will."

Images from my studio usually fall into the categories of abstracted landscape,  still life,  and religious art,  as well as pure non-representational work painted for the pleasure of creating without regard to subject.   The objective is to produce work reflecting these image types,  –   in my own style,  –  and that does not include the usual-trite-overdone imagery of which too much is seen.

Normally acrylics work well in these efforts:   they have immediacy and work well with other mediums (charcoal, ink).   This may be a rationalization:   I don’t like to paint wet-into-wet and I have no patience at all.

Hopefully,  one will find no instance of derivation in my work.

Bill Fulk - - Centennial, Arapahoe County,  Colorado