What Is the Artist Thinking?

"I am trying to paint the inner workings of the mind, that inner stream of thoughts, visual images, memories, associations, feelings, and sensations that bombard us continually. Time blends between past, present and future in this sphere. I have named this series of paintings Weltinnenraum, a concept of the poet Rainer Marie Rilke. This literally means, 'World’s Inner Space'. The general idea is that the complexity of the universe is expressed in our inner consciousness."

"I am interested in how we understand things and believe that there are layers of seeing. When we try to understand the world, others, and ourselves we look through multiple filters, almost like trying to see the trees through the fog or looking through mist on a window. We have to search to make out the image. In my work this translates to layers of images that ask the viewer to search inside the painting."

"Weltinnenraum II was done while in mourning, and the painting may reflect that. In my mind I kept seeing a small silver patch with black paint dripping down, almost like condensation on the window or tears. This became the main motif of the painting."

"For several years I have been fascinated by gold and silver leaf in oil painting. I am surprised by how the leaf sticks to the canvas and influences the design. Also the colors of the gold and silver leaf shift as the viewer changes position and interact with other colors. A layer is created by the shock of the reflections against the quieter paint making it both a part of the painting and separate. I also like the controlled dripping of paint and the sculptural quality of thick paint strokes."
—Bonnie Eggena [View artist's collection]

Comments from the November 2008 Exhibition:

"I am very impressed by the 3-D in Storm." —Anonymous

"Storm almost makes me seasick." —Anonymous

"The silver striations in Storm feel like water splashing toward you, and the white area feels like a very powerful waterfall that draws one in." —Anonymous

"Bonnie, you share light so well! Thanks." —NS

"The three paintings in this exhibition - Bottles II, Bottles III and Bottles IV - reflect my interest in the still-life painter, Georgio Morandi. This was a man who painted the same few bottles daily, over a period of thirty years. Though very simple, each painting was incredibly different from the others. These still-life paintings show my concern with light, composition, color, and in the largest painting, abstraction."
—Sylvia Hierro [View artist's collection]

Comments from the November 2008 Exhibition:

"Very nice colors, shapes, shadowing of bottles! Beautiful!" —PUY

"Wonderful combination of shapes and color and interplay between dfferent objects that blend into the background - pleasant and soothing to look at these pictures." —P.E.

"The luminosity of your pastel colors in Bottles II is captivating." —RFH

"Thank you for displaying all three. As a non-artist, is helps me to be able to see the abstract one." —Anonymous

"Morandi is alive and in blue!" —Anonymous

"I don't think I understood Morandi until I saw these 3 paintings. Thanks." —Nancy