These 2 works are a kind of continuation of what I was concentrating on last month – those small windows of urban existence – in particular reflections in a puddle and in a small local river respectively. These reflections draw one in, become internalised, and are then transformed imaginatively and poetically. I find it interesting that we can take something that is really quite ordinary and let it reflect some other unconscious dream or paradise – all down to a bit of sunshine, shadow and ripple of water. This to me is reminiscent of ideas surrounding art and the sublime and how we as humans develop feelings of awe and fear when confronted by the magnitude and beauty of nature.
On a more grounded level, I have been trying to experiment with different materials in terms of painting and drawing with these 2 pieces. Normally I would use oil paint combined with my photographic transfers but I was fortunate last year to win a Cass Arts Materials bursary so have had the luxury of being able to purchase different types of materials to play with. To this end, I bought some water colour paints and pencils and also pastel pencils and have combined these with my puddle and river reflection images. Experimentation clearly comes with pros and cons in terms of the outcome, but on the plus side, it has allowed me to draw much more delicately within the work which I am pleased about.
