Original artwork description:

“These Last Days” is an acrylic, encaustic and mixed media painting 91cms H x 102cms W x 1.5cms D on exhibition quality canvas. The painting is built in layers over a lightly primed canvas allowing dichlorotriazine dyes to saturate and bleed into the working area. I work over the dyed canvas using brushes, knives, cloths and squeegees to manage layers of acrylic paint and cold wax. It is a continuous process of ‘correction’. I erase and rub away surfaces to reveal what is hidden. At different stages I add crushed sea shells to the paint to create heavier surfaces. The boundaries of what can be managed in a painting present a constant challenge to me and through a process of layering, cancellation and improvisation my intention is always to test such boundaries.
Much of my work is inspired by music and the written word. “These Last Days” takes inspiration from the poetry of Roy Harper directly from his composition of the same name from 1977. Some of Roy Harper’s lyrics are used in the image.
“These last days, I've never known in so many ways, Looking around me, I realise I've found me ablaze, In the peace, deep in the soul of someone who sees”
The painting was also inspired by reflecting on the immense fragility of our world. International conflict, allegation, intimidation and genocide we frequently move from a position of stability to one of chaos and conflict.
The painting is purposefully equivocal. It is intentionally ambiguous. It doesn’t define an outcome or solution. The colours and surfaces are blurred and almost ambient. The composition of shapes create ambiguous relationships that question the principles of perceptual organisation.
The work is also inspired by reference to abstract expressionists John Hoyland, Barnett Newman, Hans Hoffman, Barbara Rae, Elizabeth Frankenthaler, Robert Motherwell and Mark Rothko.
The painting is shipped in a robust custom made cardboard crate (same as those used to transport large screens). The painting is bubble wrapped to protect the canvas. Further wrapping is made with corrugated card. A wooden frame is placed inside the cardboard crate to preserve the structural strength of the packaging. Each painting is insured to its sale value. Shipping costs within the U.K. take into consideration weight and insurance. U.K. shipping costs for this artwork are £90.

Materials used:

Acrylic , mixed media and encaustic on canvas

Tags: