It is said that an artist’s style develops over time; and I believe that is true, for I can see that my own has moved along a path, and the work has become more complex. I am not entirely sure whether that is a good thing. I have in mind that Picasso once said, “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child”.
In any event, my work has not entirely developed along a linear path. I began with what one could call pure abstract, but those works all had form, that is to say, were graphic in nature; and they were intended as simple items of decor. So, if you wish to delineate them precisely, one could use the term “graphic abstract”. Many of those works are today available as prints on demand.
As time went on, I felt the need of something much more expressive, and so I began with expressionist abstracts. This excited me; and I rapidly settled into this style, producing works based on some actual, real life concept, or image. Some of those tended towards more obvious motifs, and other remained more in the realm of abstract. That continues today.
Occasionally, there is a throwback to the desire to produce pure abstract work. I suppose it follows the maxim that “a change is as good as a holiday”; and that was indeed the case with my latest work, “Abstract 114“. Actually, as this work began to develop, I noticed shapes, which were probably only figments of my own subconscious, and apparent to no one else. However, I ignored any further expression of these.
At 80 cm x 64 cm (and so framed, probably about 110 cm x 90 cm), it is a medium size work, which, in a change for me was produced on museum quality, textured, fine art paper. It was constructed on the basis of overlaying applications of colours with different brush textures, considerably more bold and intense than my usual instincts dictate. Despite such a proliferation of warmer colours, I seem to have acquired a penchant for blues, and so I could not escape the feeling that a noticeable amount of blue should be represented.
