Today I have been making a start on my painting The Hob. Working outside, as I have for most of the pieces in this series. I battled against the quick drying effects of sunshine fanned by a warm breeze. In some respects these weather conditions worked as an advantage with this painting, as I was able to allow the lighter colours to dry before applying the bold blacks to the canvas thereby avoiding accidental colour transfer. This helped enormously in keeping lines clean and bold. I wanted to give solidity to the painting, making it sturdy and chunky to portray the functionality of the scene.
By keeping the painting basic I feel the scene crosses over into the abstract. Without the details to prompt the viewers eye the basic shapes seem to take on another more primitive life, whilst still retaining the familiar, if unconventional fusion of gas and electric hobs. Again one taken from my Suffolk home and the other from my place in the north east in keeping with this theme.
