Susan K. D'Alessio

My paintings are invented abstract worlds – experiments in form, color and texture. I begin each piece without any specific goal in mind. Starting with a shape that interests me – either an invented shape or one that I have seen on the sidewalk on my way to the studio – I add additional forms in contrasting colors, sanding or scraping to create texture and transparency to reveal previous layers. Working instinctively, I let each step suggest the next, gradually “building” a made-up world of depth, space and movement. Experiencing the world by what I see and feel rather than through sources funneled to me through TV, newspapers and the internet, I strive to maintain a sense of play as I work. With the use of unexpected color combinations and odd shapes, the completed paintings sometimes seem awkward or unresolved. My goal is to make them interesting.