Come to the Downtown Dance Collective First Friday opening in June! This month, the DDC will feature paintings by Tricia Opstad from 6 to 8 pm.

ARTIST STATEMENT

When painting on canvas, I take a similar approach to my work as a dance improvisation artist. Through large spontaneous gestures carrying brush and paint, my body in concert with canvas, these images grow. Through noticing strong or visceral reactions to texture, viscosity and color, I respond with impulse in the moment to make decisions in each painting session. I encounter both familiar and unfamiliar parts of myself, make decisions to lead or follow, and allow for what I see as ‘beauty’ or for a ‘Clean Mess’ to emerge. I watch myself respond to colors, lines, shapes, texture and relationships among pieces and modify each part accordingly to eventually come to a place where I rest with the image and it no longer asks anymore of me.



I have different types of tensions within me of varying degree; I am interested in merging different parts of myself, both clean and messy, with sincere hope to embrace my whole self with whatever may come.