Recently, I came across the French idiomatic expression “faire des châteaux en Espagne.” In English, it has a similar meaning to “building castles in the sky.” It implies almost impossible, unattainable goals. It literally translates as, "building castles in Spain." According to some sources, this expression originated from a time many centuries ago when there weren't any castles in Spain. I had a “light bulb” moment when I discovered this expression. It describes my newest paintings so well. I love the idea of castles in the sky, and striving toward the nearly unachievable.
My most recent paintings embody this concept of “castles in the sky.” They are building thunderheads viewed at higher atmospheric levels, almost surreal and fortress-like. They have harder edges than my previous work yet still evoke a certain cloudy softness. I love this contradiction. I love the idea of striving toward the impossible, because I believe anything is possible. After all, there are now many castles in Spain.
