Baltodanga is an attempt to cover white so that the white beneath still shines through. It also means covering another colour with white. While painting, I discovered that it can mean covering the white completely, too.

In emotional terms, Baltodanga is sensitivity: the ability to touch lightly, without disturbing everything, leaving only traces of the strongest impressions on the surface. It is also harshness: weaker impressions remain greyish or entirely white, ruthlessly unmarked.

Lately, I have been making abstract paintings in which it is equally important to lay down the combinations of colour I notice and preserve a sense of whiteness.

How do I find the motifs for my paintings? All the paintings in this exhibition began with nature. I sense that wherever I am, there is a combination of colours and forms nearby that could become a painting. Noticing it takes attention and time. Morning and evening are especially rewarding: at the boundary between day and night, less familiar combinations are easiest to see. Then I paint a landscape. During the day, I record fragments of meadows and grasses, usually enlarging them further as I paint.

When a motif is particularly strong, I can clarify the painting in my mind, decide which areas to leave untouched, and preserve patches of white canvas. Otherwise, I paint several paintings on top of one another and let go of the original idea.

Ugnius Motiejūnas