Laurie Skantzos, ‘Flamenco Sketches’

‘Flamenco Sketches,’ Oil on Canvas by Laurie Skantzos

“Admittedly, I wasn’t thinking about Miles Davis, Bill Evans, or jazz improvisation as I painted this large piece. I was, however, ‘putting paint down’ in an instinctive manner, along with employing hand-cut templates that provided a more deliberate structure…. which could be thought of as ‘modes’ perhaps….?

“Like many jazz appreciators, I am very drawn to Davis’ s Kind of Blue…and ‘Flamenco Sketches’ is my favourite tune on the album.  The painting was titled after I learned that it was to be the Jazz Festival image, and was struck by the parallels between intuitive, abstract painting and the sounds of this music. A certain amount of ‘getting in the groove, or flow’ is necessary to me in my painting practice. But some structure or a scaffolding of ideas is also important to make a piece work. These are some of the complements that engage me in both art forms.”

– Laurie Skantzos