Start at Zero

The first artwork I made in this genre of fiscal abstract narrative was an oil painting on canvas of a supersized numeric zero, as typed on a calculator, set sideways so it appears to be a facial expression. I love this painting because it captures how I felt at the time, and sometimes still feel, about working as an accountant in nonprofits and as an emerging artist. That painting was also the last oil painting I made, as I immediately transitioned to site-specific installations and mixed-media sculptures. At the same time, I made numerous ink drawings of numbers, which were explorations of painting compositions on paper and vellum. Besides three large acrylic canvas number paintings in 2000, I did not revisit painted number compositions until the last couple of years. I find that acrylic painting suits my current studio practice of working in a shared facility, needing to work in layers, and its flat, opaque, matte, and satiny qualities fit well with the compositions and themes.