The auction is drawing near and the works have been hung this week and advertised. I think the biggest worry is that people won’t understand and therefore buy your work. It’s not so much about rejection as I feel content with my own work which I guess is a good thing.
My work has recently been moving very quickly and expanding into an exploration of natural materials and paint. It follows the relationship they have with one another and the role in which I play in creating the outcome that eventually becomes the art.
I have been using chalk and acrylic paint, along with a lot of water and some pretty strong acrylic paper. I find that the wetter the paper the less work I have to do to create a reaction. The acrylic paint becomes consumed by the water and forms a ‘lake’ which dries with a deeper edge and a pale inside which is quite pleasing to the eye. This is a strong contrast with the dust elements I am using and the sand texture. Mixing both delicacy and industrial techniques and feeling. These small pieces on paper show the bond between the chalk dust and water that has been an ongoing theme I have wanted to try. I like the way the water carries the dust down the page and they move together.
I find the smaller art is for me, and even within the smallest works, it’s the tiny delicate areas I enjoy the most…finding beauty in the smallest of places. I also feel the amount of water I have used has given a new vibrancy to my work, as if it is almost glazed. Interesting because that could be a nice effect to cover my work in a sort of PVA glaze. That would then be cementing the trace I have captured, keeping it forever.
These me middle images of my sketchbook show the diversity in style and scale I have been looking at. a lot of my sketchbook works comes from dipping paper into the excess water I have and using what’s left of my palette from that day, I like this because no two pieces are the same or even feel the same to me, and it gives the mixture of whatever I have used that day a chance to run, to esacpe, to show itself other than in a plastic cup, but as art…
In a recent post I talked about working with steel which is still an idea I am pursuing. I have bought some metal and glue and am all set but what’s holding me back is the reality that it won’t be the same effect I am so keen on. It’s something brand new and scary. But exciting also.
For me this project is about my exploration into visually commentating on the relationship between paint, water and the earth (in some ways).
