"Dancing Stones I & II" are acrylic on paper, 26x40" each.  These pieces evolved slowly on the back burner in my studio.  Almost two years ago, I did a big pouring on loose canvas on my studio floor.  The paint soaked through and created a mess.  There were some interesting shapes and colors happening in that mess, so I grabbed a couple of large sheets of watercolor paper and laid them down to absorb the paint.  Then I set them aside to dry, not really concerned with the results at that point.  Every now and then, when I needed to get my hands into something, I'd pull out these papers and play, pouring and splattering paint, gradually building up what became a very active and multi-layered surface.

    

When we needed a large pair of paintings for a certain location, I decided it was time to tame these into finished works.  I used glazes (thin, transparent applications of paint) to create the rounded shapes.  To push depth, I added shadows to make the shapes appear to overlap.  I continued to build back levels on levels of these floating pebbles.  The largest, lightest shapes sit at the back and anchor the tumbling composition.  Those were created by carving in negative shapes (the spaces between) with a smooth, light gray mask.  I wanted the gray to be clean and quiet to contrast with and accentuate the textures in the stones.