Let's Talk Art Blog

A challenge for any artist is to capture and portray energy and dynamism on a static surface. It really comes down to the marks that are visible in the paint or drawing medium, whether those are brushstrokes or pencil lines.

Amongst other things this month I've been thinking about 'artists' mindset' and how, with the right approach we can move past those all too familiar stages of self-judgement and what we can do to silence the inner critic!

This painting is from my Curiosity Series, and amazingly I managed to catch most of it on video for you! All the paintings in this series began with collage on cradled timber panels and were moved forward with plenty of paint and drawing media.

I'm not a hoarder exactly, but I do confess to being a saver! Whilst tidying up the studio as my latest series nears completion, I realised I had so many interesting little snippets of paper leftover. I just can't bear to throw these little moments in time away so I sorted them out into different colours and wondered what I could do with them. This little sketch was really just a distraction from my housekeeping!

With my latest series nearly complete I'm taking some time to look back on this body of work, that began many months ago, to draw out the learnings from, what has been for me, a new and exciting process that has evolved from very experimental beginnings.

Working on the latest piece in my Rekindle Series, I became aware that machine like references were presenting themselves to me and coming to mind as I worked, so I allowed these thoughts and references to settle into the painting and as I worked, I began to ponder why this should be.