A Basis For Optimism
Monika Lidman and John KieltykaOil and mixed media on canvas, 40" X 48"
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This series of paintings was the first collaboration Monika and I had ever done on a series. We have very different working styles, and are used to approaching our own work in specific ways. At the time, our schedules were different; while I slept Monika worked on these pieces, and while she slept, I took my turn.
At first it was very jarring for us both to wake up and see most of what you had done the night before gone over by the other person. In order to allow each other the freedom of our particular viewpoints, however, we had agreed to only discuss the over-arching idea and aesthetic behind each piece.
The longer we worked this way, the more attuned we became to the paintings themselves, and the more pleasant it became to wake up to something new each day.
-John Kieltyka
