Manipulating the letter allowed me to do gestures that suggest the alphabet but remain somewhat cryptic. This could also be the writing of someone insane, which Straightjacket in the title refers to. But Weaver doesn't rely on the alphabet alone for inspiration. It's paint set to music, so to speak. I try to capture the spontaneity of jazz, but the obscured sheet music shows it's impossible to do.
Jazz eludes definition.
The juxtaposition of color and pattern Weaver explores in his canine paintings is also found in his large-scale works, some of which measure 8 by 12 feet or more. I want to create canvases where every section is different from the one beside it, so they have to walk the length of the work to take it in. Careful crafting gives these painterly behemoths potent immediacy. Weaver typically begins a large image by planning its composition on graph paper at a scale of one inch to one foot. He also divides the canvas into a grid.