Drawn to Dance:

The Line of Motion

My drawings follow the Zen tradition of using simple means to represent the essences of things. I break with the quiescent tradition of Zen by using Chinese calligraphic techniques to elicit the joyful dynamism of dance.

My paintings are all about the focusing of energy, the joy of motion and the actions of forms in space. I evoke physical energy by both non-objective and figural means. Figures are revealed through linear suggestion in fields and spaces of vivid, luminous color. Through abstraction, I capture the ephemerality of life itself.

My work is a spare dynamic of suggestion, synopsis and abstraction. When I draw I am transported into the movement of the dancers I observe. It's this transcendence that keeps me firmly committed to the subject. At this point I feel that I have at least another 20 years of work to do on the subject of dance.

-Laura Higgins Palmer