Why do we paint?

Ellie Clemens: We paint pictures. We make paintings. Why? For myself, it is because at an early age, I opened a book of great paintings and immediately fell deeply in love. I feel in love with the tiny, contained worlds I saw in each of those paintings. As I grew older and more analytical, I came to appreciate how the surface qualities of these paintings were able to create those little worlds I loved. To take liquid colors and create a universe; what could be more magical?

The premise here is that the eyes are important. We are doing visual art, not conceptual art. I want this blog to be an affirmation of the value, the magic, the majesty of that all important visual component of paintings.

So, here's the plan: There are several artists who will be the contributors to this blog. We will take turns choosing a painting and explaining just what it is that drew us to that painting, what made the world in that painting be one that we decided to enter.