"You were painting with so much energy when I walked in," I said. "Is this always the case?" Caprell nodded. "Actually, today was pretty mild. It requires an enormous amount of energy to achieve the necessary movement in my work." For Caprell, the physical vigor driven by his emotional intensity is a must, but technique is just as pertinent. "You can be as emotional as you want, but if you don’t have the technique to balance the piece, the viewer will be thrown off." Caprell believes successful abstract art achieves the harmony between emotional depth and technical balance, and it is by this standard that he measures the completion of each piece.

I scanned the walls of his studio, once an abandoned warehouse, and noticed his paintings weren’t limited to one particular style. "Your paintings are all so different, how do you decide what techniques to use?" I asked as I examined the differences in each work. "I’ll apply paint to the canvas in a variety of ways. As long as I achieve the depth of motion I am looking for, I am not tied to any particular method of application," he explained. Even with all the varying styles, you could tell that each painting was a Caprell piece.

"Did you paint this with your fingers?" I asked noticing the all too smooth swirls in one of the paintings. Caprell laughed, wiping the last bit of sweat from his forehead with the lone clean spot on the back of his hand. "If I feel like using a brush, I do, if I want to throw paint I chuck it, if I want to tear the canvas I rip it down the middle. If it fails it fails, but not because I was afraid to try." Caprell stressed the importance of progression and development, never succumbing to public criticism telling him to stop doing something, or to start doing something in his art. According to Caprell, the greatest artists never stop taking chances.

Of course my next question was, "Do you have any favorite artists, any that particularly inspire you?" Caprell responded, "People have often likened my work to Jackson Pollock or Anselm Keifer, and they are definitely among my favorites, but as far as inspiration goes it doesn’t come from them." Oddly enough, Caprell usually identifies the inspiration for a piece while he’s painting, or even once he’s finished. The work in and of itself often reveals to Caprell what was working within him when he felt the urge to paint. "Take this one," Caprell said pointing at a blue painting with pink streaks and gaping holes. "It’s called ‘Life,’ and halfway through I realized it was an expression of grief over my father’s recently diagnosed heart disease." Other paintings, such as "Candy Factory", were not inspired by a specific event, but rather by a mood or an emotion, in this case, childlike jubilance. As Caprell went on to explain, I learned how important it is for him to stay aware and in tune to daily circumstances. "We have a number of inspirations both internal and external every day. My job is to stay open to these inspirations, so that they can flow onto the canvas."

I wanted to know one last thing before I let Caprell get back to his work. "Why do you paint?" I asked, curious as to what was behind his passion. "Aside from the fact that I enjoy it, I’ve got nothing to prove, no political agenda. I’m not trying to shock you with a disemboweled corpse from Iraq or a disturbing sexual image. I just want you to take a ride on the brighter side of self-expression."