Recently I have been working on a series of paintings based on natural form that explore the use of complementary colours and different textured grounds.
In this blog I want to share my working process from sketch to finished painting.
For this piece I started with a white outline on black paper, gradually building up the core thick white lines
Gradually the form was built up by adding blue shades to the white tints
Shades of pink and green were used to explore the negative space
The completed sketch
In my painting I wanted to explore the use of complementary colours alongside a luscious textured surface. A pink ground was laid over the canvas using random brush strokes. The outline was marked out using white paint and as in the sketch above the blue paint was added using a stippling motion to start to create the form of the object
A thick layer of black paint was added to the canvas which was scrapped away using a palette knife to reveal the luminous pink underneath. For this part I work instinctively with the canvas, responding to the materials.
Close up of the surface of the canvas showing the pink breaking through the top layer
Gradually the pink and green paint is added, again using a stippling motion to blend and create a delicate textured surface. The physicality of the painting is revealed through the different processes such as the scrapping, stippling and distressing of the surface - all of these different physical acts provoke an emotional response to the painting, from the violence of cutting into the paint to the nurturing of the surface by stippling and blending the paint
The final painting . Murex 2012
