New Work

Not what you would expect? Well me neither! Those of you who know me and my work may be surprised at how I am producing such different paintings all of a sudden.

The truth is that they are not really new. I began making these “scrapey” paintings in my first year of my degree in 2010. Inspired by the work of Gerhard Richter, I began making marks on an old door with copious amounts of acrylic paint, making an awful mess in the process. The idea was not to recreate a Richter but to examine the seemingly distant idea of self portraits. (This was my focus in my first year.) I had made many such literal paintings and drawings to this end. The invariable result was an approximation of me with a furrowed, stern expression born of furious concentration, trying to capture my own likeness from the mirror.

Me in oil pastel. 2010

Thankfully I moved on to the idea of gestural mark making as a form of self portrait. A creation of a record of our movement, or a choice of colour depicting a decision as a kind of portrait. Different from the representation of our faces and more akin to the sometimes deeply emotional resonance contained in an object or piece of clothing that was well used by a now departed loved one.

I’m my case, a flat, red pencil my Dad used in the course of his day to day work as a joiner. I painted this pencil many times and it became a stand in for my Dads likeness that somehow says much more than a standard portrait. It helped me process my grief.

The accompanying blue, rusty plate became a stand in for me as this found object was very much part of my second year work. I made two 5ft square paintings, one of the back and one of the front and fixed them together, hanging in space for my first year show.

Dad was cremated wearing his blue overalls with many pencils in the pockets.

These two paintings made in 2013 are hanging at home, reminding me of my Dad and our connection.

In any case, self portrait was a passing idea and it did lead in some interesting directions.

So now, I have come back to the joyful process of making these abstract paintings. I’m not thinking about them as self portraits or having any other deeper meaning than paint on a surface. They are the antithesis of my observational wildlife drawings but I’m told by one tiny and clever, elderly lady that there is nature in the new work too. I hope that is the case. But, like Richter, I hope not to be put in a box as far the work I produce. All I know is that they bring me joy and that is the best reason to make anything!

I have five more blank primed boards ready to join these finished paintings so I’d better stop writing and start painting.

At the time of writing these are for sale in my gallery in Bradford on Avon. Contact me if you’re interested.

All feedback welcome!