In my last post I mentioned that my original intention was to work from melded digital imagery. This was to try and muster the sensation of feeling trapped, contained, and wanting to externalise how I felt. The tension in yourself – wanting to explode with inner turmoil.
Back in October I prepared a canvas to paint out a composition of 3 bodies. It was too small for what I wanted it for and so I since painted over it with a grey oil paint mixed with liquin. I also threw crushed up charcoal at it to try and draw something out the materiality of the paint (I’m not sure what)!
On this I wanted to paint a singular melded body. This would allow the flesh to be life sized rather than trying to squash the 3 bodies onto it.
I planned it out on stretched paper and with being only an hour into experimentation I decided the whole concept of this digitally manipulated flesh was too gimmicky! It didn’t feel like me – it didn’t feel honest.
So whilst having an aggrieved moment in the process of painting my large canvas I splashed a wash all over the grey and brought it back to a mid tone, ready for it to be used as the base for another image.
This was when I read the story of Mr Vovk – “The ‘disappeared’ whose voices will be silent in vote on self-rule in Ukraine’s east”…
