A painting is essentially an image. As such, it belongs to the category of formal signs. What is uniquely characteristic of signs is that, without previously being noticed in themselves, they directly and immediately represent things distinct from themselves. Before a painting, our knowing faculties reach the object first; only through a posterior, secondary reflection do our faculties focus on the painting as a painting.

An image differs from other signs in the way it represents its object: by being a visual likeness of it. In turn, the image in a painting differs from other images like photographs or reflections in the way it is created: formed manually with pigments and brushes. Because of the manual process involved, the painted image admits various degrees of perfection depending on the degree of similitude it has with its exemplar. As a via ad res or path to things, the painted image can only be judged on how easily it allows the mind to reach the represented object. The faster the access allowed, the more beautiful it is and the closer to being art it becomes.

This basic idea is the thread unifying the 23 essays on painting I've written so fars. In them, you can read the supporting analyses and reasonings for this central thesis.

So, my artist statement is "Click at a title and read on!"