For decades, while teaching and studying music, I have been an ardent fan of harmony; the way chords sound as they progress and resonate with each other.

While making this art, I’ve found that all aspects of music have visual analogs. Rhythm, harmony, line, melody, tone, composition and arranging are prevalent to one degree or another in all art. Whether colors are adjacent, in my geometric paintings, or in shadings of blue and white in Contender, there is a magic in the way colors evoke emotions.

My goal is to create a stimulating abstract canvas on which viewers can paint their own thoughts, stories and feelings. Realistic paintings use recognizable subject matter to elicit interest or emotion. For me, photorealism gives too much information to stimulate the ambiguity necessary for creative viewing. Great art should create mystery that only the viewer can solve.

Often, I only plan the paintings by colors and size. Although I have paintings with known images (Sea Scorpions) most of my work is abstract, using color, design and texture. Rather than a brush, the palette knife is my main tool to build texture with paint.

I prefer the improvisational, in-the-moment way to create. Each stroke or application of paint helps me navigate what to do next.

Improvisation demands that you are ready to change direction on a dime. Many of these paintings  take left turns in their development. Each new incarnation of the image creates progressive stimulation for my imagination and expression.

I want viewers to have a rich visual experience, but never too much. I want to leave possibilities in my painting: a visual invitation taking viewers to new places in the canvas of their imagination and emotions.

David Bloom