John Campbell

My paintings have every intention of following Haiku philosophy – in the beginning. I have discovered that I babble a lot, i.e. overstate the message sometimes, either with the paint and/or with collage imagery and then have to come back and simplify the work. The ideas are formulated from everyday things as I find that people in general produce a wealth of material for me be it humorous, serious or just fascinating. Robert Rauschenberg is one of my favorites though I have many favorites. His imagery is contemporary, energetic and relevant. As I work, my thoughts filter his works as well as my reservoir of color study and design. Shapes that spark curiosity, deliver a message (hopefully) or rest the mind along with colors that harmonize are the goal whether the painting is abstract or realistic. Either one has the potential to be a good painting because the former describes the space while the latter describes the subject.