Tuesday 5 February 2019

Journey into .... discovery & decision making

Response, memory, reflection & colour   




The task that I have set myself always throws up surprises, this is the inevitability of process led work, one thing leads to another; it is not a linear process, it can at times be convoluted and at other times, so simple. It is a learning curve, as much about myself as it is about the handling of the material. Ultimately I realise that all of this latest work is a self-portrait, the scale of the work in most cases is near enough, my scale; working on the canvas as far as I can reach in terms of width and height is liberating; for a start, its size not being 'domestic' means that at the moment of applying the paint I cannot fully realise its effect on the overall emerging image - I am immersed in the act of and at the same time, in the painting itself - what you see is not necessarily what you get.

Apart from anything else this way of working is prone to misguided delusions of a romantic idyll of an artist working away in the belief that they have something to say and is often a conversation/ heated argument  that I have with myself. I suppose part of the quest is to achieve a sense of purpose, I have an innate desire to make the work but how much of it is self -indulgence? Inflated self - worth? Are the values that I hold skewed? Maintaining an objective outlook and questioning my motives is a constant; moments of self- doubt are always to the fore and require an immense amount of effort sometimes to override the desire to say nothing at all. Of course this is true for so many others, so, wheest!

Seriously, what is as good as seeing wet paint interact with another, the surprise of translucent layers, the fortuitous accident, the emergence of shape and form within a composition? Actually, there are loads of wondrous moments, nature's momentous visual and audible spectacular events that are the everyday, a magnificent sunrise/set, majestic scenery, flora and fauna is a given. Love another. The list can go on and on, other cultures, music, food .... but as one of my old tutors from my foundation course said "making art is better than sex" That was her opinion, I get where she was coming from because to experience the wonder from both activities you have to be fully immersed in the moment.

Anyway
Some of the latest conversations each revealing itself only towards the end and memory comes to the fore. All approx around about 165cm x 158cm or over












Recently had Iberian Overture included in Visual Arts Scotland Alight 2019 (until Feb 22) at the Royal Scottish Academy building in Edinburgh which was great.
Working towards solo show 'Flux' in Aug at Scott Gallery, Hawick Museum where I will be showing these larger works.