Date of Award
11-2025
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts
Department
Art
First Advisor
Shaun Roberts
Second Advisor
Neal Cox
Third Advisor
Ron King
Fourth Advisor
Chay Runnels, PhD.
Abstract
This thesis explores my practice of non-representational, mixed media painting as a way to consider the passage of time and the shifting nature of memory. Working in layers of paper, pigment, paint, and other materials, I build and disrupt surfaces that mirror the instability of short-term memory and the gradual erosion experienced during my father’s journey with Alzheimer’s disease. Each painting becomes a palimpsest where gestures accumulate, fade, or reemerge, reflecting how memories surface, distort, or disappear.
Through this layered process, the work intertwines personal narrative with broader questions of how time is felt rather than measured. The paintings act as both material records and emotional markers, using abstraction to convey the tension between holding on and letting go. Ultimately, the thesis argues that mixed media painting—rooted in layers and revision—offers a potent language for representing the complexities of memory, impermanence, and presence.
Repository Citation
Gilmore, Gavin G., "In Flux" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 616.
https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/616
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
