Perylene

I happened upon Windsor & Newton's Perylene Black when I first moved to New York in 2009. The American economic recession had taken hold, and after drifting back and forth between Boston and New York without a place to live for months, I'd finally found a place in New York City. I was taken by the name, the sound and texture of the P, L, and Y as they roll gently off the tongue- there was a sense of satin about the word, and after a few hard months, I needed something delicate and nuanced to fixate upon. This was the first time in years that I'd used black in my paintings, formerly having only used a varying mix of Raw Sienna and Ultramarine Blue. When thinned or used as a tint, it is more green than black, and its temperature is easily influenced by the type of white it is mixed with. I so felt it fit with my experience in those early moments of New York City life that I've used it exclusively in the shading darker colors of my paintings until 2018, 9 years later.

While working on a color test for a commission, I realized that my beloved Perylene no longer solely encapsulated that shade of my life. There was no real reason or explanation; I'd simply moved on.

The color test was ultimately rejected. I painted over it, using Williamsburg's Graphite Grey and my old standby of raw sienna and ultramarine to guide me into the next period. This is a body of work made from 2009-2018, with the help of my good friend Perylene as a foundational element of my palette during that time.