Artist Statement Creating appears to be a type of pulling and reaching for something. It can be a letting go release, and an inward venture. Knowing how something will appear is one thing, making take place what came to mind, but developing what did not mentally appear, is a trophy. As it were, acting immediately on an idea.As an adult, 20th Century abstractionists were the first artists that I studied. Around January of 1984, art as a professional vehicle started pulling on me, so I opted to run with it.Making art and writing short story essays were communicative outlets going back to childhood, but art seemed like a quicker payoff, suited better from my standpoint when coming of age, because steady employment was infrequent. Hiring myself became essential and that brought me into the formal art world by 1986, showing a dozen or so paintings in pastels and ink on boards at an outdoor group presentation. These were representational and figurative, requiring around two years to produce, including a few enlarged versions of the universal bar codes, done in a Pop Art mode.Another set of paintings some 18 months later, were presented in debut to the gallery scene. This also launched an ongoing salad of art worldly voices inconclusively describing with no agreement, what they were seeing in my work, and my own views of it generally shared in the mystery.The thrust forward had begun with me noticing a magazine article showing recently produced abstractive work, and this represented a challenge to include my voice for the genre that celebrates blatant liberty, whereas depictions encompass the existence of something that relishes its own evasion of rules, and critical interpretations of content are all at least somewhat valid.My work touches a fun level when executed through impulsive unction rather than mandated routine, but routine is consistency and that often equates a heightened instinctive performance also over stretched-out time periods. Kind of like the saying: “A miracle is an instant healing, and a healing is a gradual miracle.”Performing art as a casual job is a flip side to creating from a deep quest mode where surprises and unknowns become the norm. Bringing forth an image from a prescribed obligatory mode harbors the tendency of ushering in perplexity since certain points are planned out, if not the entirety of the project. The more thought, the deeper the maze tends to be.Whereas when the content is initiated through leisurely or vibrant impulsiveness, the process favors an explosive beauty about it from an immediacy in following through on a just occurred notion. This aspect has no replacement, seeing with eyes what just came to mind, completed in less than, say, an hour.Navigating through something blueprinted, involving many components, bestows a different reward only the patience of dedication can offer.Memory’s guess says the longest time I’ve spent on a painting was about a year. It’s a figurative abstract combination that could have devoured double that span, but at some point, adding bits and pieces only began to remove shapes which more so belonged. Lack of space squeezed away possibilities unless using additional backdrops, or options toward layering colors, so I finally stopped.Along with painting, there are some small-scale clay sculptures in my portfolio -a series of figurines primarily being the outpouring of this endeavor thus far- and spontaneous photography is a favorite of mine, because ‘one never knows’ when the art piece will suddenly demand a snapshot. These days of course, due to pocket tech, millions of people are suddenly photographers, and that is a good thing with our world’s endless subjects, often presenting brief momentous occurrences, visible for a split second alone.And I would love to sculpt more whenever the inner planets line up, as it were. Shaping clay demands other skills of the hand that for me carries along a bit less emotion with their usage. Sculpting feels to me precisely as it is, earth derived hands fashioning natural earth.Musical renditions that I produce on keyboard and alto saxophone happen either by spiritual accentuation or as a continuation of something improvised -amplifying spontaneous melodic ideas. Not that much different than visual work. Either I latch into a flowing groove without inspiration, and notes just bounce off another, making sense; or I work through an idea, and one thing gradually leads me from sound to sound, note to note.As opposed to the word ‘musician,’ I usually see myself as an experimental agent of musical flavorings. Often, I detect when a certain enthusiasm to really play something intriguing is present, and it usually comes out that way. Energy that just says, “now!” and it simply turns out right. Much as I love Jazz, what comes through me is the category of audiation, which is strategically speaking, another way of saying “expression.”So, it is with painting. At times the drive to create is urgent, other times easy going and tedious, but the resulting product is still a reflection of the gifting. Humility is a mainstay, as these abilities do not allow me to fool myself into thinking they are not divinely imputed. Creativity kind of mimics a river of buried treasures and the credit for its value cannot fit inside of my pocket.My work, along with me, has been categorized and labeled in various genres. That somewhat generic term, “expression,” seems to be the most straightforward. At least it dares to point out the apparition of aptitude initiating. Expression is ‘feeling’ and ‘emotion’ unbound.In this reasoning though, no technique or Movement is specified and being it the case most every person qualifies as an artist in some manner, and as well art can be seen in most everything if not absolutely everything: a cloud, a blade of grass, a stone. All the human eye perceives, and the human ear detects.In an appropriate setting, any item can appear noteworthy, which helps to make the art world an entity not to be too profoundly bannered. It is a specimen of spectacle, typically inclusive of all substances as being art and relegating value according to proxies like tradition, risk, comfort, shock, and assumption. Personally, I surmise that the Dada Movement challenged and dethroned the idea of critical expertise; and perhaps that was the entire point. Basically, everything we say is art because we say so.Some of the most intriguing endeavors with art takes place when I have no idea what to paint, but simply start shifting pigments and one noticeable thing from those movements materializes, suggesting additional representation to either verify or just compliment the original unintended image, be it a person, object, animal or something else.Working in series is another aspect of output that reflects common drive to full throttle dive into what I would rather not relinquish until the bubbles fizzle out. It’s difficult to declare an end to a series, so with most series, I pronounce them ongoing or in hiatus, because I know that chances are, I will desire returning to add another installment.Touching what is sought after, art is attained, a reward of a quest, a realization of following through; a manifested fantasy, a prize of audacity, a meal satisfying hungers, and questions addressed, periodic answered. - Dr. Reginald K. Gee