"I N T E R N A L  G U I D A N C E  S Y S T E M S "
   
 
Paul Gasoi - USA
Catharyne Ward- UK
James Lancaster - UK
Della Wells - USA

 
 

 

Candyce Brokaw


Main Image






I was born in 1953 in New York City, an only child to a middle class Jewish family. My father died when I was 8 leaving my mother and myself alone without much. My mother's parents helped us as much as they could, but we struggled to make ends meet. I began painting in 1993 as a healing tool to cope with a breakdown, resulting from the trauma of rape and abuse. My art work acted as a vent in a pressure cooker, to stop my head from exploding. It created a safe state to release feelings that could not be articulated. From 1993 I never stopped compulsively making art. I paint mostly lying on my stomach on my bed. Having my elbows on the mattress gives my hands great control for detail. I do not use a brush to paint; it feels unfamiliar to hold one. I use squeeze tubes of paints to make series of dots or lines and many different types of pens and markers. My art is a spontaneous stream of consciousness. I do not plan a drawing or painting it comes from within my internal world. Characters seen in the paintings sometimes resemble my mother, father, husband, and me. Also many animals and creatures are surrogates assuming human identities. There are many hidden beings within my art sharing mouths or eyes, embedded into each other.