Painting Information Page

My Painting Process

by Mark Pflughoeft

The Media

I back-paint Plexiglas using acrylic paints. Sometimes I insert a second layer of painted Plexiglas or painted clear plastic acetate to create more of a layered effect. Lastly I create a 2-D collage layer using paper, painted paper or painted canvas as a background. The paintings are 2, 3 or 4 layers deep. I apply the paint in a transparent manner, blending thin coats of paint, wet on wet.  I then scrape the wet paint with various bought and handmade tools or trowels to create the linear quality. The most fun part of the process is superimposing one layer over the next after the paint dries in an attempt figure out which set of overlaid colors, textures and patterns will work the best for the finished piece.

The Composition Process

The two parts of composition that I focus on most are balance and contrast. Balancing the visual weight in a work is vital to any work of art. One element, be it a swath of color, a line, a texture or form needs to be somehow counter-balanced by another, or the finished piece will visually loose its equilibrium.

 My paintings are usually also about conflict or contrast. My colors reach across the color wheel rather than simply moving to ones adjacent to each other. Also the tension of opposites usually seems necessary in my artwork. Symmetry seldom works. Large vs. small, hard-edged vs. blended, dark vs. light and smooth vs. textured are contrasts that appear in the majority of my work. These contrasting components create the vital element of variety.

The Emotional Process

I both write and paint out of restlessness. I literally feel a stirring within me, like something has been baked inside me and now it is ready to come out. I get anxious and then I know that it is time to express, time to write or time to paint.

My paintings usually do not have a literal meaning though people tell me what they mean to them all the time. Sometimes I relate closely to their interpretation and other times I am transported to left field, bewildered. Of course I understand that anything any artist creates has meaning. The use of specific colors and forms create certain meaning on their own, but I do not put colors and forms together to relive or translate specific past experience. But what I do, is to set up specific visual conflicts for myself to resolve. My paintings are made to leave the viewer with a balanced look at a variety of contrasting elements. My painting is my way of sorting out my world.

To contact Mark about questions, pricing
or personally commissioned art works
Call 1-608-838-9825 
Email pflugy@charter.net