Red, Yellow and Blue; An Homage to Mondrian?
August 23, 2010 | Filed Under news
This is the fourth and final in the series that began with the same red/orange colour.
All four paintings centre around a red, yellow, blue palette, but of all of them, this piece is closest to the basic primary colours. For this reason, it reminds me of one of my favorite artists, Mondrian.
One of the fascinating things about Mondrian’s paintings is that although he works with red, yellow, and blue, none of his colours are completely pure or “straight from the tube.” Each hue is intentionally mixed to create a very subtle palette.
I was definitely considering this as I mixed my own colours for this painting.
That “intentionality” is present in the other areas of these paintings as well. By that I mean that every element of this painting is intentional, from the precise shade of the colours to the arrangement of the shapes. Even the few areas where paint can be seen on the wood background have been left intentionally.
The proces by which I create my paintings causes random elements and “mistakes,” but the way these elements and mistakes are used is entirely intentional.
This piece is 30×30″ and 7″ at its deepest point. Incidentally, it also reminds me of legos.
Going Deep With Abstract Painting
August 3, 2010 | Filed Under news
I’ve always been interested in contrasts in my work. Contrasting colours, contrasting edges, contrasting forms.
A contrast that has been becoming more apparent to me is the contrast between the clean, sharp, almost pristine painted shapes and the ragged edges and construction of the wood pieces. I paint and repaint the edges of each rectangle until it is smooth, straight and linear. I like the implied struggle between the very different handling of the paint and the wood.
Another contrast, and a main theme in my work, is that between flatness and depth. The canvas is flat, the wood is flat and the painting is flat, but the way it’s put together is anything but. The layering of flat materials creates depth and dimension.
I see each layer of my paintings as hovering on its own plane, separate from the rest but simultaneously connected. The planes are parallel to each other and when seen together, they create the painting. This is an “illusion” I try to create by using spacers between each layer to create space between them.
This painting is just over five inches deep all together. The frame is four inches deep, as opposed to the two inches of the previous works. Again, the painting exists on three levels, but each level is even more spaced out than before.
The third in my set of red/orange paintings, this one uses two shades of blue with a light green to compliment the red.