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Mini Biography, February 2011
In 1960 I was close to forty years old. I
had four children and I thought the time had
come for me to learn to pray. Paul
Tilloch’s philosophy inspired me. I
thought that one of his suggestions, as I
understood it, would be helpful: to truly see,
one should learn to make full use of one's
eyes. In other words, I should practice looking
more closely. A practical, yet fun way to
practice using my eyes was learning to paint. I
didn’t have a clue how to paint, but the
process of painting could become my prayers. |
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My résumé details the path of my formal learning. In
addition, my life has been full of what I call
“adventures in living.” While
studying at The Maryland Institute of Art
(MICA) I was struck by the then prevalent idea
of “no negative [background]
space.” This makes sense for a
non-figurative painter, but I intended to paint
figures and a positive figure suggests a
negative ground. The concept seemed a challenge
to me and, for forty years, through the use of
many different materials, techniques and design
elements, I’ve searched for satisfying
ways to meet this challenge. During the process
I’ve used water colors, spray paint,
acrylic and oils and various combinations.
Later on, I began to create figurative
“Objects” combined from found odds
and ends (junk), which are meant to be viewed
frontally. |
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Since the 1990s I've been using water-based
latex house paint; it suits me well. The paint
allows me the freedom to experiment further and
fully use my imagination. I’m still
learning to see. I’ve come to feel that,
in a sense, my paintings are my prayers. I
don’t understand them, but the process
makes them real to me. A few of these recent
works are featured in the gallery. |
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Over the years I have produced numerous works,
some of which have ended up in storage. This
inspired me to found The
Art Connection: an
organization that facilitates the donation of
works between artists and nonprofits such as
schools and homeless shelters. Now in its second
decade, the Art Connection reaches out to a
diverse audience, and has become a model in other
cities including New York and Washington DC.
Fay Chandler |
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