Jon Gregg

After a lifetime of Tibetan Buddhist practice, in painting, as in all aspects of life I am interested in the truth of impermanence, in non-attachment, and in letting go of the illusion control. Consequently in the studio, instead of imposing my will and intention on the painting, I try to remain open and fluid and allow the paint to be what it wants to be.

Through the build up of random marks over time, and a process similar to an image emerging in a darkroom developing tray, or to seeing images in the clouds, images (mostly figures) emerge out of the paint and my unconscious and manifest themselves on the canvas and through the paint.

This process is joyful and can go on for months and sometimes years. The paintings, after a few months work, are often rotated 90 or 180 degrees and reworked from that new perspective, in an effort to undermine control and allow the multiplicity of the present visual moment to be present in the mystery of the paint.

The paintings can appear to be narratives, however, I never know what the narrative is, and in point of fact have no wish to know. I prefer instead to just enjoy the deep connection I feel to the non-verbal language of the paint and the mark, and the world and the people the paintings present.