Mortensen's paintings teem with lived incidents. They are collages, brushings of materials and words, and as he states: "They are often painted over, written over, sanded, rewritten, crossed out, re-painted, re-sanded, re-written, etc." Words from his poems and found phrases both succumb and survive as they enter the field of the canvas.

Found objects are treated lovingly and elevated above their humble throw-away status. Sponges, rugs, wire, tape, nails adorn paintings of all sizes and shapes. Old and new rub against each other in textured works that suggest a fractured narrative composed of the artist's visual and emotional memories.

Like good luck charms, these works are invested by the artist with a kind of magic. Transformed and interpreted by Mortensen, the raw materials are no longer important. The authenticity of the work lies in its emotional honesty-itself a very risky proposition in a world that values irony and cynicism above all else.