Jacqueline Gelfuso

I am an artist because it is an incontestable part of my being. My first love is drawing and the human figure is my inspiration. I have discovered that drawing is really an intricate part of any artwork. It is my contention that drawing becomes the initial creative response to inspiration. It is through drawing, that I have found a way to navigate and explore my own methods of painting. Working on large-scale paintings requires the involvement of my entire body. It is crucial to my work that line acts as my drawing tool. I focus on line quality to describe the structure of the body. In some areas of my paintings, I allow the initial drawing to show through. I begin with a sketch of the figure in vine charcoal and instinctively know when some lines become more important than others. This allows me to paint and draw simultaneously. I work with earth tones and a monochromatic palette which allows me to directly reference old master drawings. I call it ‘the struggle’, as I spend hours drawing and erasing repeatedly in the attempt to depict what I 'see'. When I say 'see', I speak of the process of carving out a three dimensional form with your drawing tool, on a two dimensional surface. As an artist, it is my job to ‘find’ just the right line in order to describe the form I am depicting. Once I have the found the correct line, it becomes emotional, a sensation, as if my eyes have been closed the whole time, and just then, have opened to reveal the reality of what is in front of me. Intimacy has become an important element in my work on three levels. First, my canvas acts as drawing paper, which is either stretched or stapled directly on the wall. I am physically with it throughout the entire process which develops the intensity of reality. Second, when I form a close relationship with someone, I am usually honored by their willingness to be part of my life. In essence, I feed my desire to really know someone by depicting them. The action of searching and finding their form through drawing/painting becomes my personal expression of the importance of that individual in my life. My third expression of intimacy is through self-portraits. I have discovered they have been the solution in my attempt to understand my emotions. Like a visual journal, painting myself documents who I am in various moments of my life. I mean to, and very surely, hold conversations with past artists. I may strive to draw like an old master, but elements in the drawing will place them in this moment. I believe my work conveys my own experience of life, as I see it. It provides a way for me to connect with others, to compare and contrast my life to theirs.