In art, ACTION painting, is not dissimilar. Just as the artist informs the canvas with a gesture, the canvas informs artist as to what their next act, or stroke may be as a result.
It’s a conversation in as much like the term for the very words spoken by characters in a film script or improvised by actors on set, “It’s dialogue Jake.”

I am a grateful child of both parents.
31 years an actor, 25 so far as a painter… I happily inhabit both the film and art worlds and each informs the other, so much so, that most of my paintings are made on location; sometimes on set, in the long waits between shots.

I only use materials I can source in field. The more remote and exotic the location the better, as it reduces the number of variables and, for me at least, increases my creative hunger and desire for expression, as access to colors, canvas and brushes become limited. The search for materials, in fact, has become part of my “process”.

This pressing need to create excellence with “what ya got“, be it on film, memory card or on canvas, adds to this addictive urgency, and air of danger. It demands commitment and bold choices, while being responsive and in the moment. Like an Army medic or EMT, I feel like I’m
doing triage; anointing, wrapping, and bandaging a deep blue cut, tending to a fresh crimson gash. And crazy part is I’m the guy that causes the happy accidents!

Annnnnd…Action! -BZ

Curated by Yiwei Lu