There can be abundance found with restraint.  When a bush is pruned correctly, it blooms more profusely, doesn’t it?  In her series of White Page paintings, Los Angeles artist Caitlin Lonegan doesn’t shy from letting the white of her canvas show through.  In fact, she embraces it.

Untitled ( White page, brown ), oil on canvas, 72×78

Untitled ( White page, Writing III ), oil on canvas, 48×60

Instead of the white canvas being just a surface to be covered, it becomes part & parcel in the composition– a place of rest for the eye, an expanse of space in which the marks made by the artist’s brush are not just strokes but the subject.

Untitled ( White Page, Teal ), oil on canvas, 72×78

The confidence an artist must have to allow her marks to be laid so bare is humbling and astonishing to me.  Every little stray swipe of the brush, every little drop of paint is there for the eye to see.  And it is in these little gestures that I find the most depth and delight.

Untitled ( White Page, Writing ), oil on canvas, 48×60

Untitled ( White Page, Blue Line ), oil on canvas, 48×60

Want to see more work by Caitlin Lonegan?  Please visit her website by clicking through on her name.

All images are via the artist’s website.  Artist found via Little Paper Planes.