Artist Statement     Shelly Porter

“a painting should grow out of an internal necessity"
- Wassily Kandinsky


The use of color and form by the artists Wassily Kandinsky and Gustav Klimt have specifically inspired me.
Wassily Kandinsky’s theories regarding color and form appeal to me on a deeply personal level.
Kandinsky stated that “color calls forth a vibration from the soul” and that “form has its own inner sound.”
He also said that “color possesses spiritual qualities and physical effects”.

Color and pattern have always been dominant aspects of my work. Recently I have been exploring the circular
form in a non-objective format. The circle has so many varied meanings that are important and symbolic to me.
On one end of the spectrum the circle can mean spirituality, eternity and wholeness, to the opposite extreme it can
be interpreted to mean isolation, containment and closed-mindedness. These current works represent the reconciliation
of thoughts, feelings and events in my life through the use of colors and the circular form. In my opinion,
each painting represents a token of the invisible and intangible part of our lives - a little piece of spirit, created in
hopes of making these thoughts and intuitions a reality. The consolation for parting with one of these tokens is
when it speaks to just the right person.