I am a sucker for a good conspiracy, especially when one comes true. Many of my images are created while flipping through news channels and watching TV. In this way I am slowing building an arcana of imagery that serves as a collection of contemporary thought. My creative process infuses this imagery into all of my artwork. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it. I apparently have the time. I think in shapes. Indigenous art systems from the southwest also rely on geometry to create imagery. To me, shape relationships are a magical way for images to take form. I view my painting process as being closer to sign painting than to easel painting. I allow myself the freedom of walking around a painting with one element at a time trying to explore all of its possibilities. I prefer to use water-based paint because water enables me to move in a way that oil-based paint will not. I achieve many of the shape relationships in my paintings by cutting tape directly onto the surface of the canvas to mask out colored areas. Paint stains are often the basis of a new composition. Spilling paint directly onto the surface of a canvas is one way I keep myself off balance. When a painting becomes too rigid, I take a palm sander to the surface. This distresses the image, which I inevitably have to rebuild. If needed, I use broad gestures of paint to revive a painting. When all else fails, I throw the painting into the washing machine. I consider my tapestries to be ‘paintings in yarn’. My patterns are direct renditions of my drawings and paintings. Most of my yarn paintings contain over 50,000 strands of individually hand-tied yarn in a technique that is commonly refered to as ‘latch-hook’ (I call it 'loco-latch-hook'). I have been making latch-hook rugs since I was a child, so when it came time to convert my paintings to textiles, it seemed like a natural fit. Now I have my designs woven in Nepal so I have much more time to paint, design and draw. My rugs are affordably priced and are considered to be highly collectable. To view my rug collection in Santa Fe, please visit Gary Coles-Christensen Rug Merchant at 125 West San Francisco Street.