Flow

Instead of brushing on the paint to make the water patterns, I have poured the paint down and pushed a viscous paint mixture over the surface.  The effect is a more fluid and leaves an interesting trace of the movement and flow of the substance that has now become frozen on the surface.

"Metamorphosis" mixed  media on aluminum, 30" x 20", 2017

Underneath the painted shapes is an abstracted image of clouds.  The clouds are rendered as text on the left hand side and as large pixels on the right hand. Behind the cloud image there is a photo of a building under construction shot up against a sky where again there are clouds visible.

Structures

Come see my work at Gallery 1313! I've got two pieces in the show 'Structures' which runs from May 25th until June 4th, 2017.

'Departures'  Mixed Media on Aluminum, 30"W x 20"H

'The Sea is not Full' Mixed Media on Aluminum, 24"W x 18"H

GALLERY 1313
Wednesday – Sunday, 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm
1313 Queen Street West Toronto, ON.
Phone: 416-536-6778

Before the Flood

In this picture a concrete structure seems to dissolve under pixelated clouds and abstracted water patterns. The water image on the left is atomized into a line-screen pattern as you look closer. 

'Before the Flood'  Mixed Media on Aluminum 30"W x 20"H

The white shapes that span the image oscillate between flat abstract elements on the picture surface and reflective waves on water. The piece presents imagery and yet interferes with the imagery.

I've made the painting to be something interesting to look at and that will draw you in. Symbolism is suggested but never confirmed:

• The structure could represent the reality we build around ourselves.
• The concrete could represent permanence and solidity. 
• The water could represent movement and constant change - perhaps the opposite of permanence.

But equally, opposite readings could be equally valid.

• the structure could represent a reality that is imposed on us. 
• The concrete construction could represent lack of permanence since it is a building under construction. 
• The water could represent permanence. Even though it is fluid, its appearance and behaviour is always the same. 

So, what does this painting 'mean'?  It is meaningful, in that it is full of meanings - but does not reduce to a single meaning. 

Meaningful Images

Instagram on a phone. Images are viewed within a fraction of a second. Not looked at, as much as registered. 

If you posted a picture of particularly beautiful clouds:

No one would 'see' or really look at them. It's just registered as Clouds. Flick. Next.

An artist sees something in the clouds. There's a feeling there. But a picture isn't enough. Clouds. Flick. Next. 

The artist has to do something more. Jasper John's famous sketchbook note: ''Take an object. Do something to it. Do something else to it."

By painting an image, the artist slows down the gaze. We see the image being made. The artist brings us a step closer.  Here's a beautiful painting of clouds by Rae Johnson. You don't just see clouds. In the brushwork you see Rae seeing the clouds.