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Painting
I use a variety of materials to
produce my work. Both traditional oil painting and acrylic painting on
canvas are the most frequent media. The pigments and grounds I use are
of archival quality. I sometimes incorporate material such as metal
grill, netting, plastic bottle-holders, bits of string or naturešs
detrius such as dragonfly wings (already deceased only!), sticks or bits
of mica I find in the forest I am often interested in the layered
textures and colours I can create in this way. I may transfer or
stencil from these, depending on the work. |
Trees of Sochi - 1989, 36" x
45" acrylic/canvas
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Monotypes
In my
three visits to the Contemporary Artists Center in North Adams,
Massachusettes, I enjoyed the quiet retreat provided in the converted
old woolen mill and used the "Monster Press" to create large one-off
prints.
In these prints a combination of printing and
painting techniques are used to make an image on a smooth printing
plate. Sometimes loose material gathered from the natural or industrial
world--a bit of wire or a twig--is incorporated into the composition on
the plate. Oil-based inks are layered, scraped and brushed with an eye
to the viscosity or resistance-to-flow of each ink, and with
consideration for the image which will emerge in reversed form when the
materials are pressed by the powerful, hydraulic press into the dampened
paper. By adding oils of various viscosities to the ink the opacity and
transparency of each layer of colour can be controlled. The hydraulic
press allows multi-coloured layered effects with only one pressing, and
with no danger of smearing the ink from the action of rollers. The
artworks capture some of the spontaneity and "presence" of painting,
while revealing unique effects which are not possible by any other
method. After printing, the image may be futher developed or enhanced
using other art media applied by hand. The result is a monotype:
a print produced from a plate which is one-of-a-kind.
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