Untitled Blue Abstract

Original painting. Acrylic and gouache on canvas, 30cm x 40cm (unframed). An early work from June 2023. Now signed. 

"Untitled Blue Abstract was my first abstract in this style. It is very simple and stripped back, with a limited palette of just a few colours, in mostly the same colour family. The work is the companion piece to Portal, which was completed several months later in 2023 as Untitled Blue Abstract's counterpart. It is closest in style and process to works like Neolithic, Bird Of Paradise and Soul Dance, which I consider my most purely expressive works. This piece definitely paved the way for those later paintings." 

"When I’m creating pieces like Untitled Blue Abstract, I’m usually in an intuitive flow state. As I work, I am most focused on the inner rhythms of a piece. With the exception of Portal, the intention has never been to depict something specific - but to express and lose myself in colour and movement. These works usually end up looking and feeling very fluid, with murky dreamlike shapes you can't quite pin down or put your finger on as to what they are and represent. In this sense, I suppose they embody the subconscious mind." 

"Once the work is complete, it is often the case that I or others see things in them that weren't intended but are nonetheless very welcome. The human brain likes to identify, name and categorise. I'm reminded of how we look at clouds and say, 'That one looks like a bunny!', 'And there's a heart...' Observers of this painting have seen a shark, a dolphin, a surfer, fish and a dove. I like that it's in the eye of the beholder and enjoy hearing what is reflected in it for others." 

"I find the painting soothing and had it hung on my bedroom wall for many months, only taking it down to display it with VVArts Studio for an exhibition in January 2024. This is my favourite of my styles because it feels the most free and ethereal. I can only create these works when I am embodying such feelings. An artist is a divine channel/vessel and it is while creating such expressive abstract paintings that I feel this most acutely." 

Video here, via my Instagram.