Artist Statement

After six years of painting live jazz on iPads, I am now at a point where I am free to abandon likeness and move towards a tapestry of more abstraction.

While painting I am caught up in the turbulence of this improvised art form - Jazz. I leap into each painting opportunity with all the confidence I can muster and add layer upon layer to the piece. I flow with the music, and the movement of the musicians - sliding back and forth in a frenzy between as many as thirty layers. My aim is to capture a narrative, that includes the music, space, musicians, the story they tell, and how I feel. It is a turbulent involvement of my eyes, ears, and hands. And when going well it feels like a collaboration with the players. The resulting image conveys a dense fabric, letting through the underlying membranes selectively. It also plays back as a short video, revealing every stroke I made. 

Bayside,California, September 2017

Claire Iris Schencke