The Colour of Work

Next week I am in Berlin providing some artistic input to a client conference. I’m excited to be heading to Germany, and to be doing the work. The biggest challenge for next week is to complete a 13m x 1.5m canvas over three days. This will be my biggest work so far, by a loooong way. I’m working with two fellow artists so we can support and take care of one another during what will be an intensive few days.

I’ve been preparing by thinking about some of the colours we may use while we work, and I’ve built this 10″ x 8″ abstract out of those colours. I’ve made this image using several layers of paint and several techniques, I like how the work has emerged from the canvas, and I will feature it in the ‘Finding My Way’ exhibition as part of the Carshalton Artists Open Studios event which starts tomorrow.

Abstracting.jpg

Pattern Spotting : Looking Back to Look Forward

Are you trying something new, or building, developing and spotting patterns?

Facebook recently flashed up one of those ‘remember this’ photos. I rarely pay attention to this Facebook feature, but this particular post was of a photograph of some art I had made in 2015, titled Signals Part Three. The art sold to friends in the USA, and the photo which Facebook nudged into my view, depicted the finished, framed, displayed pieces.

I really enjoyed making these art works. At the time I was experimenting with new forms of paint, and the colours in these works were all made from just three tubes of paint. The sense of geometry in these works, periodically played with in order to create some gentle disturbance, was and is part of my artistic experimentation.

The main thing I took from this Facebook reminder, is that our work is an evolving thing. I often feel reluctance to take part in and share something new, when in fact, what I am usually doing is tweaking and refining. A process, a design, an idea. I don’t like to dwell in the past for too long, and a brief look back often helps us look forward. If you were to flick back through your work a couple of years or so – what patterns might you find? More to follow…