Joe Bun Keo interviews painter Joyce Conlon about her work which is on view the East Wing Art Gallery at Mt. Wachusett Community College in Gardner, MA through November 21, 2012.

Conlon comments: "I believe painting, like literature, gives us metaphors for understanding our own reality… I spend a copious amount of time sanding and painting over things. It is not a very efficient process. Earlier marks are altered when sanding or scraping reveal them anew just as they are changed by being painted over. In addition to patience I think optimism and forgiveness are invaluable. The image, such as it is, emerges from an application of marks that make sense out of what has preceded."