Artist Profiles

These rather diminutive paintings initially entice your eye with their rich, often bright, colors combined with a seeming naiveté suggested by the simplicity of the forms. But have a better look and you�ll see how the paint handling and the color provides a more complex take on the work. The paint is, by turns, scraped away to just reveal the under-painting or applied somewhat densely to fully inhabit a form or squeezed into intense thin lines. The same thing happens with the color which often tilts toward the grays; just enough to make the bright colors even brighter.  By now you are compelled to give these small paintings greater scrutiny and would do yourself a disservice to ignore the impulse.

Untitled, 2003, oil on canvas mounted on wood

Untitled 2004, oil on canvas, 10.25 x 9.75 in

The next thing to notice is how the forms are managed. To begin with, Acheson keeps his vocabulary simple: lines often represent 3 sides of a rectangle, (mostly) small circles are employed, small, medium and large rectangles divide up the picture plane and a few graphic

Untitled, 2004, oil on wood board, 5.25 X 7.75

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