John Mitchell interviews painter Alix Bailey. An exhibition of recent paintings by Bailey is on view at The Painting Center, New York, through February 24, 2018.

Bailey comments: “Right now I’m painting mostly larger longer-term paintings of the whole figure and I’m changing the way that I work. I’ve become increasingly interested in finding a balance between what is invented in response to direct observation and what is invented in response to relationships found on the canvas. I am less concerned now with the fleeting precarious nature of working directly from life – the improvisational nature of it. That aspect of painting still excites me but now it’s more of a stepping off point.”