Maria Burtis’ larger paintings are a natural outgrowth of her obsessive and committed ritual. Her process begins as a conversation between physical action and internal stillness—an initial transfer of energy through marks, washes, drawing, brushstrokes, and drips. This foundation then gives way to a slow process of editing and building, as layers are added, obscured, and revealed. She deliberately keeps the painting open and unresolved for as long as possible, embracing uncertainty and pushing the edge of her understanding. The result is paintings with richly layered surfaces and an underlying history that exudes breath, depth, and life. For Burtis, painting is a meditation practice—an ongoing dialogue between her internal landscape and the natural world. Since September 12, 2005 Burtis has made one small piece of art every day (yes, really). She collects bits of visual information and experiments with different media and subject matter in these daily works. Along the way she has kept a blog of these paintings, now totaling over 7000 works. “A small daily task if it really be daily, will beat the labors of a spasmodic Hercules”— Anthony Trollope