It Wants to Grow It Wants to Flower.
And it does…within that brief passage
spilling light and flourish
every branch every stem every blossom
a memory of that which existed.
These images were created using a type of photogram technique. No camera or light source required. Think ancient cave painting, blowing earth pigment paint over a hand thereby leaving a “shadow image” or “memory image” of that which existed.
Using raw canvas, burlap and paper in this series. Each of these surfaces act as containers for the work and hold the plants and the pigments or paints in a vastly unique way. Leaving the works outside in the elements for up to a week the colours shift and deepen, the plant forms settle or disappear altogether. More layers are built upon, adding pigments or acrylic paints over more layers of leaves, twigs, branches, grasses and blossoms.
Using earth pigments, water reactive pigments, ash and sprayed acrylic paint the hues shift and deepen. The compositions further a relationship with the environment: mist, wind and time and transform and condense into a type of curing process whereby they seem to emit a mysterious presence in a state of disintegration. Back in the studio, some of the paintings are further abstracted and manipulated by re activating the pigment and pushing the colours using a squeegee, painting knife or brush.
That which existed.