more painting activity, paintings that are resurfacing again, breaking the surface tension in the matter of paint – developed from a liking for lichen-ness, off the wall and onto canvas… unearthing new content, in the source/subject of the painting and in the actions/processes of painting…
currently defined as paintings, given the use of traditional painting media and their appearance of something painted, in their overall flatness of the surface, but the surface textures discord with the formality of the painted surface, in the visual plane which denies perspective, in the containment of the square – a little disorientating in scale, disconnected from reality, but still a mirror of nature, one that could trick the eyes into seeing elements of beauty therein… and i find myself still consumed by the concept or dichotomy between perceptual depth and physical flatness in my work…
i have been considering the issue of them seeming to be contrived, in that i have, deliberately so, set out to achieve something that is expressing the wonder of the elements of nature in a manmade environment – and i have visually recorded and thus blogged some of those steps in the process. it seems to be in my character to be meticulous, in the attention given to the details – this may be an overly controlling approach in my painting, in that it offsets the possibility that some other form of art could arise out of the accidental outcomes of a series of processes – as nice as they might appear to be, they would not be driven by the original concept…
how ever art is made, constructed, modelled or fashioned, it will be in some way contrived and artists will seek to express content, meaning, emotions or philosophies through the outward appearance of their art… the artificiality of art (as object or process) is surely at the heart of any conceptual content… i once called it just smoke and mirrors but there is more to it than that… perhaps it is this very contradiction, between an earnestness to convey or express something unique, individual, with a desire for it to be perceived or valued as an object in itself, which informs the necessary requirement for an objective title, a lichenscape or liken-scape…
enough words; some images perhaps… these are proving to be quite difficult paintings to resolve, but i have the underlying matter of the content to remind me where i am duly headed…
if you don’t want to see the results, look away now…
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lichenscape I
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lichenscape II…
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you can see previous working states of these paintings – achieving a perfect lichen-ness part one, part two and part three – the small discoveries & minor incidents within the wider process of creating a painting (or object of art)…
Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty if only we have the eyes to see them.
John Ruskin
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current exhibition: Rebirth, curated by Lorraine Cooke, is an exhibition of Contemporary Japanese Art inspired by Ancient Jomon culture and Japanese aesthetic, in collaboration with the Unearthed exhibition at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. The Rebirth exhibition features works by Sahoko Aki, Megumi Baba, Shaun Caton, Veronica Grassi, Jazz Green, Tsunaki Kuwashima, Barbara Leaney and Keika Sako. Rebirth, the exhibition, is at the gallery Art 1821 in Norwich and runs from 29th July to 8 September 2010.
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