Dream Fragments – May 1 to May 17, 2026

Dream Fragments – Cindy McMath

Prone to vivid dreams, both good and bad, my dreams sometimes include me starting, working on, or even finishing a painting. The painting is perceived as a “masterpiece” during the dream (or at least better than any painting I’ve completed to date). However, on awakening, I have only a sense of the painting – maybe an idea of colours or shapes—but can never recall the details.

During the day, I’ll often jot down ideas and doodle designs – trying to daydream my way into the next painting, but things rarely follow the original idea closely. Although some parts of these rough drafts will appear in the painting, I seem to need to work out the details on the canvas itself.

Many of the paintings in the show started from such “dream fragments”. I paint intuitively, and dreams and daydreams play an important role in my process.