Sandra Wray - Artists Statement

My painting is an expression of who I am and what I am about. I have always struggled to express myself through conventional means, and in time found painting to be the most accurate source of expressing what it is that I think and feel at the time. I manipulate paint and use expressive lines to show more than just what you see. I want the viewer to feel it, to sense it.

In essence, the final piece is a result of many paintings... I could have stopped in any number of these stages, but I can’t let go until I feel it is complete. Like I have said all that needed to be said. Looking through the many layers and facets that make the final piece work, you will find that your eye never stops moving over the canvas, absorbing the textures and colours and depth that is created when different mediums come together.

Colour is what I use to manipulate my thoughts into action. I have always truly believed that everyone has a ‘soul’ colour, and every colour has a different meaning to everyone. For me, black is my soul colour, but again, black has a different meaning to me as it does to you, or anyone else. For me, black is alive and sensual. It holds many secrets, not all knowing and yet it bleeds and blends into all our very existence. It is found everywhere, and yet, it can be forgotten.

I prefer not to ‘label’ my paintings, and instead give them numbers. This way, there is no distraction, no seed is planted onto the viewers mind when looking at the painting. It is all about emotion. What  you feel when you stand in front of the artwork and how it makes you race through your thoughts and memories, seeing a little of yourself inside it – or maybe stirring something within. Once the painting is complete, I feel as thou my part is done, I have said all that there is to say, it is now up to you