Where did the inspiration come from for this piece?
This work is from a series of abstract landscapes titled “The World Beyond” that was started in the summer of 2020. (nothing to do with The Walking Dead TV series!).
In fact, the title for this series came from a painting by the Mexican artist, mystic and visionary Remedios Varo, a true adept that translated esoteric symbolism into her unique imagery with incredible skill.
I’m searching for a state of peace and serenity through this series, landscapes that exist somewhere deep in my psyche against the constant flux of modern life. They are explorations of space, light and magic in the midst of chaos, and hopefully, transport the viewer to an otherworld that exists on some ethereal plane of existence.
The works have a dreamlike quality and I endeavour to have some kind of a focal point, where the eye travels towards a light source that in turn radiates through the “landscape” itself.
This work involves a great deal of viridian green transitioning through aquamarine blues, which are complemented by the golden yellow and deep earthy reds and umbers. The forms represent the landscape and horizon line, which conjures a journey towards that central point, which in turn is a kind of sunset. However, I prefer that the viewer interprets my work for themselves and I’m always fascinated to hear their thoughts.
What is the creative process when creating your vibrant abstract art?
It is a process of creation and destruction – literally! The great thing about working in oils is that you can return to a piece on a daily basis and work into the paint. I build up the surface using translucent layers on top of more opaque colours and work the surface using a combination of palette knives and brushes. I may have some vague idea of what I want when I begin, but the forms evolve organically. Areas of paint remain, while some just get completely wiped out. The strange thing is, although they are abstracts, they always have a point of completion where it all just sits “right”. The colours are chosen intuitively, although I quite often use complementary colours to create dynamism. Further textural effects can be achieved with brushes of various sizes as well as palette knives. I also use mediums to thin or thicken the oils, which create different effects and textures. It’s an experimental process and the techniques are discovered by doing the work, rather like an ancient alchemist of sorts!
During the process, I take lots of photos to see how the general composition and colour combinations are working. Even though there’s nothing to actually compare it to, it’s a good method to get an overview of how the finished piece may look.
How long would this work have taken you?
Overall works like this take around two weeks or so. That’s not 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, of course, it’s more a case of working on a piece consistently for a few hours each day. Sometimes I may pull a really long session of up to 12 hours but usually, it’s around 4-5 hours. Some pieces in this series have been finished within a week, however, so it really is a case of stopping when it all seems to “work”.
