Ross Roadruck and The Palettes - a.k.a. paint skins - take residence in The Deskhibition Space

“Much of my experience as an artist is working within self-imposed constraints. Having a background as a “painter” but, because of the demands of teaching, having limited time dedicated to my studio practice, painting became a distant act. I have tried my best to find ways to continue to engage with painting.

During my time in the classroom with middle and high school students, I have begun to collect the dried paint from the palettes of my students – I refer to them as paint skins. The paint skins themselves are a very tactile material and the act of peeling them is a sensory experience. While they are largely considered to be mistakes or waste from the painting process of my students, I view them as an embodied symbol of practice, care, and an earnestness to create. It would be easy to throw these paint skins away to make the palettes clean and accessible for the next group of students but I have found value in the act of saving them and finding a way to use them imbues them with a sense of value.

While I have used the paint skins in other ways – and will continue to in the future – the act of sending these symbols of practice, care and creation across international borders [ to be exhibited with the Deskhibition project ] felt like a unique way to share their embodied energy”.

Ross Roadruck