Land scape Special Edition CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW the work. Action has to happen. In my paintings, the importance of conceiving is secondary to the act of creating. The tones of your works— be they bright and joyful as in Sun and Sky, be they marked out with such thoughtfully dark, intense atmosphere, as inFormation — create delicate tension and dynamics: how does your ownpsychological makeupdetermine the nuances of tones that you decide to include in your works? Brian McPartlon: My friend Agnes Martin, the renowned abstract painter, once told me every day was the same for her. You can see how evident that was in her work. My paintings are affected by my experiences – and every day is not the same for me. My psychological makeup naturally dictates the tones in my the work - living with ups and downs, human tragedy, the use of stimulants, the overuse of stimulants. When my brother died I took refuge in my studio. It is hard to remember how it happened, but the next morning when I saw the painting I had finished that night at the time of his death he appeared like an apparition. Was that intentional? My mind imposed the colors of a deep depression in that painting, in that sad hour. The painting is titled KEV. You are a versatile artist and you often use unconventional media, unconventional staining, pouring, spraying, as well as palm fronds, cacti, animal bone fragments and your own fingers. We have particularly appreciated the way your works —more specifically Woodsie — communicate such stimulatingmateriality, almost tactile feeling: how do you develop such visual quality and