 |
| 'Shut 1', 2012 |
Things slowed up again
slightly with my paintings since I completed ‘Shut 1’ a few weeks ago. Any loss of momentum can unnerve me because of my old habit
of losing heart with my work, stopping altogether, then eventually trying to
make a completely fresh start each time.
Pleasingly, this process of self-sabotage seems to be a thing of the
past now and I have a clearer sense of the whole process as a larger ongoing
activity. Slowing no longer has to
mean stopping and it’s easier to rationalise the times when taking care of
other business, or just succumbing to yet another school-borne virus, snarl
things up temporarily.
 |
| Study For 'Shut 2', Acrylics & Paper Collage On Paper, 60 cm X 45 cm, 2012 |
Anyway, though it’s taken a
while, I have a clear idea for the next painting in development and am close to
the point of buying the wood, building the panel and getting stuck into the
early bread and butter stages.
Last year’s tendency for paintings to jump straight out of a
well-resolved sketchbook study has become slightly extended this year and ideas
are now evolving through larger, paper-based pieces also. It’s something else that slows things a
little but, hopefully, deepens my investigation too.
The piece will constitute
the next step in the ‘Closed’/’Shut’ series that has occupied most of this year. Once again the composition and any vestigial remnants of
subject will derive from my reference photos of industrial shutters. The source is actually the same shutter
that seeded ‘Shut 1’ but it takes on a completely new character through a closer
viewpoint, - resulting in an asymmetrical, less regular composition of vertical
bands this time.
 |
| 'Together 1', 2011 |
This painting will also lack
the conscious ‘all-overness’ of previous shutter paintings, focussing more on
the distribution of differentiated individual motifs across the picture
plane. This reflects the increased
visual importance of the elements of door furniture, graffiti and surface
detail in the photos. The collaging together of discrete elements feels like a little closer to the approach I used to compose certain paintings last year, - ‘Together 1’ in particular.
It also relates to my
interest in Fiona Rae’s painting.
I’ve had a reproduction of one of her pieces pinned up for a long time
now and keep harking back to the way she incorporates multiple characters,
symbols and appropriated motifs into nominally abstract compositions. I find it most appealing when such
elements are scattered with clarity across a relatively open field and like the
kitsch, Pop aspects of her work.
That is something that’s beginning to creep slightly into ‘Shut 2’.
 |
| Fiona Rae, 'Ringworld', Oil, Acrylic & Glitter On Canvas, 2001 |
 |
| Fiona Rae, 'Moonlight Bunny Ranch', Oil & Acrylic On Canvas, 2012 |
 |
| Fiona Rae, 'Rodeo', Oil, Acrylic & Glitter On Canvas, 2001 |
As with the Paul Morrison pieces I saw last week, Rae’s work clearly shows the importance of digital
graphics software in its construction. The relatively low-tech collages she
uses to develop ideas also please me.
Those have a real glam factor with sequins, glitter, butterflies flowers
and feathers all vying for attention.
It’s great to see Rae knowingly embrace such a girly aesthetic, whilst
operating as a serious, grown-up painter of real relevance.
 |
| Fiona Rae, 'Untitled (Tokyo Popeyes With Japanese Paper)', Mixed Media On paper, 2004 |
 |
| Fiona Rae, 'Untitled (Value Coordinate No.1 With Architect Grass)', Mixed Media On Paper, 2005 |
No comments:
Post a Comment