INCENDIARY
Saul Steinberg stated that: "Doodling is the brooding of the hand". Drawings produced by absentminded scribbling; invoking Dadaist automatic drawing. Not that it is necessarily true that all doodles produce worthwhile drawings. But it is a starting point and one that I use frequently. In downtime and also when embarking on new work - start with a circle, oval, square then embellish. The more you do it, the better success rate. It is a constant surprise when something good crops up, something you know you can work with. Who hasn't scrawled an abstract expressionist masterpiece when they are in a meeting or on-hold? Anyway, that's the preamble to briefly describing the loose collection above. Most started as a subconscious thumbnail sketch or doodle on paper or a photograph.
Incendiary? Once a punk, always a punk attitude . . . Well, they'll hardly have you rioting in the streets but what I mean by that as a catch-all I guess is provocative - to encourage a response. The deliberate layering of images is confrontational, intended to hold your attention, encouraging exploration and insights as separate images become apparent. It is I suppose the distillation of influences and ideas energetically composed on the canvas. The juxtaposition of striking portraits, screwball characters, brash typography, lurid pattern created with the visceral use of mixed-media and viscous colourful paint work, all mixed up in a tangential narrative.
Initially I was going to list and explain artistic and aesthetic influences but in thinking about it I was aware that a) there are far too many and b) it doesn't pay to compare yourself to a list exemplifying brilliance. You'll just have to do with me for now. As Robert Motherwell said, "Doodling is the way to greatness". Back to the drawing board . . .
Incendiary? Once a punk, always a punk attitude . . . Well, they'll hardly have you rioting in the streets but what I mean by that as a catch-all I guess is provocative - to encourage a response. The deliberate layering of images is confrontational, intended to hold your attention, encouraging exploration and insights as separate images become apparent. It is I suppose the distillation of influences and ideas energetically composed on the canvas. The juxtaposition of striking portraits, screwball characters, brash typography, lurid pattern created with the visceral use of mixed-media and viscous colourful paint work, all mixed up in a tangential narrative.
Initially I was going to list and explain artistic and aesthetic influences but in thinking about it I was aware that a) there are far too many and b) it doesn't pay to compare yourself to a list exemplifying brilliance. You'll just have to do with me for now. As Robert Motherwell said, "Doodling is the way to greatness". Back to the drawing board . . .