There are days or weeks when I just don’t feel like making "serious" traditional works. During those periods I turn to abstraction and I “justify” my “anti-traditional stance” by the fact that I believe there are enough artists painting recognizable scenes. Abstraction affords me opportunities to “decorate” and manipulate colour without thematic constraints or preconceived ideas. This piece is a fairly large work on canvas which I called, “Festivity trail”. I used colour shapers to create the white “tubes” and comb-like scrapers and anything I could find, to create impressions in the wet oil colour.
This work would have taken me about four to five hours to complete. The reason for mentioning the time, is because I have to finish the work in one sitting. I sculpt into the wet impasto parts; the following day (for example) the paint would not be malleable enough to reveal the whiteness of the canvas underneath. (Obviously the consistency of the painting medium would be a factor too.)
I have developed my own abstract style over the last 25 years – which is true or will be true for all artists who are playfully plodding along. Unfortunately, abstraction is still “tinged” with some kind of “second-class” genre status to an extent; I am not trying to defend my love for abstraction, because I am a “lover”. Deep within my heart I have fallen madly in love with abstraction many moons ago, I am deep down a true abstract expressionist. Fortunately, like other artists, I can produce works in other genres too; I can hopefully “convince” the public I am actually a “real artist” too (occasionally).
Two decades ago, a lady told me that she likes the patterns I am creating, but she wanted to see them on textiles. Five years ago, I did print a few of my decorative abstractions on textiles, just to see how they would look as “art for the body”. This painting, included here, made a beautiful beach scarf indeed. However, as artists we cannot forever be trying to please everyone – even though digital printing makes everything possible now. Let us dare to decorate in any style we like, because the first person we have to convince regarding the merit of our efforts is “ourselves”.
Let us consider something Joan Miró said, “When I stand in front of a canvas, I never know what I’m going to do – and nobody is more surprised that I at what comes out.” Let us leave a decorative “festivity trail” – if we can dare to decorate.
Comments