Tessa Greene O'Brien "Surf Point Chair" (2022). Oil on linen, 21 x 17 in.

Tessa Greene O'Brien "Surf Point Chair" (2022). Oil on linen, 21 x 17 in.

I view painting as a framework through which I can deepen my understanding of my life and of the world around me. My painting practice prompts me to look slowly and closely at the details of the places I inhabit, and to give attention to the energy and characteristics of the people around me. While I root my practice in observation & storytelling, I often look towards abstract painting processes, freely borrowing techniques such as pouring, staining, dying, and scraping to achieve my visual aims. I consider myself a lifelong student on the history of painting, always leaving room in the studio for play, experimentation, and discovery.

Currently I am working primarily in oil, and alternating between traditional oil ground preparations on linen and a starting surface of colorful dyed canvas. Each technique presents unique ways to amplify light and color, and I am interested in how a strong sense of light and color have the potential to create an emotional experience for the viewer by adding a layer of storytelling to otherwise mundane depictions of daily life. The moments that I choose to paint are familiar to me, diaristic snapshots imbued with a color-induced layer of mystery or magic. I recall how places appear in dreams or memory, with spotty details, hazy blurs, or sharp contrast, and ask myself how I might make the paint act as such.

My paintings range in scale from postcard sized to large-scale murals, and these dramatic scale shifts affect my approach to painting-making. By regularly changing the studio parameters for myself, I strive to keep discovering new ways to connect with the viewer and to satisfy my own eyeballs. I am perpetually interested in the possibilities of paint as a medium of communication, contemplation, and invention. - Tessa Greene O’Brien ‘22

Attribution: Courtesy Dowling Walsh Gallery