John David O'Shaughnessy Paintings

"Elements" 2010 Acrylic and Mixed Media on canvas 28" x 42"

Q: There is so much going on in your paintings, why is that?

John: Well, I’m interested in painting a reflection of the world. We live in times that are dominated with so much information and noise. Noise is often information that isn’t understood. Then again sometimes noise is just noise, but fits into what is going on. Maybe because we are exposed to so much noise quiet space can almost feel uncomfortable. I like playing with the idea of information overload because it’s so dramatic.

Q: It seems like you repeat a pattern within a painting, why does this interest you?

John: I do like repetition; like in music, it is a way to transport the experience to some other place. Repetition becomes transcendent at some point; it gets into the way our minds work. Like information overload, patterns seem to emerge when our minds have a difficult time wrapping around too much information, so we name it all as “pattern” as a way of making sense of the world.

Q: Do you have a specific idea in mind when you start a painting?

John: For me painting is always about the happening or experience. When I was at Mass Art Jeremy Foss explained to me about how even when you paint over something, it’s still there. That always was something I held onto and found to be a great guide. I often have an idea of where I want to start, the size of a canvas, what kind of paints and what palette I will use, but beyond that I find the painting itself tells me the direction it needs to go, I have to be quiet and listen. Distractions always influence painting; sometimes this can be welcome. I don’t wait for some kind of inspiration, if I am having a difficult time with my painting; I need to paint through it. Painting isn’t about everything being comfortable and easy. My favorite painters; Giatto, Titian, Vermeer, and Rembrandt were all looking for something beyond the surface, which is so human, it’s beautiful. Intellectually, looking for something more beyond the surface still valid today, I believe. What else is there?

Q: It seems like your approach lacks structure, how do you explain this?

John: I am interested in balance in my painting. Though an area or passage may have been arrived at through random marks, pours or drips that are beyond my control, the underlying structure of the grid is a constant and an understood constraint in my paintings. I suppose I’m a die hard formalist at heart, though nothing is static and I am always trying to break the rules that I set up for myself.

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