The distant Horizon – Painting
Today I compleated two acrylic wash painting’s that I have been working on over the last ten days.
I feel that they have developed well through the experimenting and application of wash applied, using both wet on wet (which allowed paint to bleed into one another) and ( wet on dry areas) through the delicate balance of layering the wash over wash technique used, I was able to create interesting layers, the works based on the distant horizon that I feel speak of a sense of solace found in our encounter with nature. I have attempted to capture the essence of fragilility, sereninty, and translucency, within the works.
The painting’s are best viewed in close proximity because of the opaque translucencey and to get the benefit of the delicate layering of acrylic wash I used.
Through the scale, I have also attempted to convey a sense sublimty, of immersion, defined by the meeting of sky and sea… the line on the distant horizon, which creates an awareness of space and equilibrium through looking deep into the distant horizon… defined by the meeting of sky and sea..
I found Georgia O’keefes use of paint application and technique, along with her ability to create a sense of spacial awareness influencial, particularly in works such as, Blue and Green Music.see image.
I have also been inspired by Peter Doigs works, using his paint technique’s through layering washes that bled or vertically run into one another… and how these works often depict the horizontal aspects within landscape’s which draws the viewers attention into the scene.
I feel if my works are viewed close up the effects of the paint created by the layering and the colours I employed will allow a sense of being drawn into the scene.
The works are infulenced by William.H. Davis poem on nature, Which encourages us to ‘Stand and Stare.’ (1871-1940)
William Blake also addresses nature in a quote ‘ The tree which moves some to tears of Joy, is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way… some see nature all redicule and deformety…some scarce see nature at all. But the eyes of the man with imagination, nature is imagination itself.’ (1757- 1857)
I also found inspiration in Alain de Botton’s ideas in art as therapy, the he identifys Venitian Glass with – fragility…delicate, transparent Venitcian “glassware best… ever known.(he links the idea of the glasses fragility with mans own fragility)… Most of the time, we have to be strong. We must not show our fragility. We’ve known this since the playground. There is always a fragile bit of us, but we keep it very hidden. Yet Venetian glass doesn’t apologise for its weakness. It admits its delicacy; it makes the world understand it could easily be damaged.”
Whilst working on these paintings I was reminded by Chagalls quote ” Colour is everything,when colour is right, form is right.”
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/jan/02/alain-de-botton-guide-art-therapy
