FINE ART STORIES by TSVETANA

THE  “CHAOS&TRUTH”  STORY

Wow ! What a title! How did it come to coin this name, someone asked me once…

Here is how this name came to be one of my most cherished paintings….CHAOS & TRUTH. It started one  summer in early 2000. Summers in Southern California can be scorching – especially  for some of us, born in moderate  European continental climate  across the ocean. The trees in my luscious mini forest –  seem to take it better than the patio, which is turning into an oven for many hours   a day.

I had just begun to experiment with large scale abstract painting, as a diversion from the endless and tedious hours of sculpting. In large scale paintings – every layer consumes   a great deal of paint and needs to dry completely before the next layer be applied. So – the more I experimented – the more  time it needed to dry. The temperature is never the same – so all I could control in the process was the time, not the exposure. Eventually, the frames that I especially create for each piece, stays for great periods of time- waiting its turn  to be completed.

In reality – these new large scale  abstract pieces are as much of a creation of the Sun as they were by me. Really! The temperature makes its own changes on that particular layer – sometimes they are spectacular in its effect! Other time – not so much. In these cases – you have to start over form that point on. This is the spontaneous part I like. Constant discovery!

One time – I had imagined a very large, sprawling canvas, that is very gentle at the sale time…I wanted to make a piece that is very large, horizontal, that has this strong, but calming presence. I make my own frames – it is an involved physical, a little tough – but while I am laying out the wood and the fabric – it gives me time to  put even more thought in  the end result. So I built the frame  36″ by 120″ and let is wait. I used a very fine , but strong blend of linen and silk.  I believe in integrity – when you create something – make sure it is genuine to its  core – including the materials. The purity of material is important to me, whether it is sculpture or a painting.

One summer passed – the large frame stayed untouched. The next summer  I did one layer.  Another summer passed. Then – 3 years later – I put it outside, where I usually work under the blue sky – and  I let my imagination free.
Then one afternoon – in 2009 I had this moment of  discovery and innovation. I was ready to do something entirely different from the ZEN SWIRLS I first did   in 2000. And right there , on the  ground – next to the blossoming orange trees –  I started  layering  the spontaneity of many  years of suppressed intentions to complete for this piece.

The more my determination grew – the softer I wanted it to look! Somehow it always takes more effort to make something  that looks effortless…
Like the ancient  hieroglyphs – which express and entire event – not just a single thing! It is almost impossible to register the thoughts that were occupying my mind at that time. At this moment, you may say – this is my own private performance. It is full of emotions, joy, wonder,  discovery, impatience, – it runs the gamut of  human expression. Then you wait a few hours, because the heavy layers need to settle and be protected from everything – from falling orange blossoms petals –to the tiny cute faced lizard, who live under a near  by  decorative rock  to a wanderer squirrel or a cat, who see this is just a part of the yard , only wet and slippery …
If one had a glimpse of the scene, while I was doing this painting    – it would have been quite baffling to the unknowing eye – the scene would have been closer to a dance, than to painting, simply because of scale. And that is maybe the reason why  each of these large scale paintings have so much meaning for me.

In a few hot summer days in 2010 I managed to complete  CHAOS & TRUTH. There was this gentle lace-like effect, when you look from a distance; when you come close to explore in depth  – it transforms itself into an organic  universe with unexpected spatial depth, impossible to describe.  In the end – this canvas is as appealing vertical as it is horizontal.

The truth is – this piece is very dear to  me. It took years to complete. And I fulfilled my goal – to have a complex large scale painting, that changes with the distance it was viewed. And the chaos, that preceded its completion was simply a precursor for a truth, that emerged in the end.

Isn’t that always the case  – Truth always emerged from Chaos.
Chaos always  preceded the Truth.And that is my very own story behind this piece! Hope you enjoy  it!

 

Yours truly, Tsvetana for TheArtcChronicle

PS. The CHAOS & TRUTH is featured in a DVD, which showcases in  videoart  the paintings of  Tsvetana Yvanova. The idea is to find a brand new way to experience the viewing of art  – a very artistic way of viewing . This DVD selection is available for the first time on Amazon.com.