Fosse Fosse Fosse!

Acrylic, oil pastel and pencil on cradled plywood

24 x 16 in

61 x 40.6 cm

Jazz hands! Remembering the stage actor's performance advice about how it is impossible not to be upstaged by children and cute animals – always. Unavoidable. No matter how hard or fast we “tap dance” or how desperately we want to be loved or how much we “Jazz Hands” our hearts out. And yet we keep trying. Heart (and courage or is it insanity) – for the love of it – how could we not keep on keeping on? Many will recognize this title thanks to Robin Williams in The Birdcage but perhaps, too, for Bob Fosse himself. For the record, jazz hands is the only dance move I can perform with conviction.

The ongoing Super Ply series consists of black and white paintings on bare plywood. I begin with a random hand doodled abstract monotype on the bare wood, then paint with 2 small brushes and my hands. I add details with oil pastels and pencil. I usually work in silence alone in my studio, but some of these have been created live at art events and reflect the mood I sensed in the room. As a process painter, I allow each painting to develop organically so the character and context are not planned at all. Any text fragments - and the title - become clear at the end when the piece resolves itself.