''Resemblance of a Past Future: Longing'', Acyrlic on reclaimed wood, 2022
I’m really excited to have finished this new series: ‘Resemblance of a Past Future’. It was quite a long project with a few of the pieces tracing their roots back to 2017. The work was completed over several different studio and work spaces, which is interesting to observe what effect and inspirations came from each space.
These are some of the biggest pieces I’ve created since school and college. It’s been good to prove to myself that I can work in this size again, especially in paint. Up until this point I’ve been working around a base drawing in fineliner pens.
I wanted to move into creating bigger paintings and I am pleased with the results.
I believe the first work; ‘Expression’ was started when I did a residency at the Lawrence Batley Theatre. There is an influence from the Neoclassical architecture style of the building, designed by Joseph Kaye. Architecture, especially of the Neoclassical and Gothic Revival, is one of my favourite areas to draw influence from. I love examining archways, bricks and columns for patterns and creating my own take on them.
The Theatre has plenty of interesting elements to draw from and also benefited from huge elegant windows, perfect for creating art in. After my residency I moved into my first studio in Vortex Gallery. This space has large windows where light pours in. It’s a space that I immediately fell in love with. The building also benefits from interesting and inspiring architecture.
Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield
The piece ‘Enchantment’ was created from a sketch I created at the Kirkstall Art Trail, which to be honest didn’t go exactly as I had envisioned. My work was set up in a pub over the weekend, where I was situated next to the stairs with a fellow artist, this meant lots of people walking past but not really to stop and check out Artwork. This was a tad frustrating as it kind of felt like we were in the way of the pub, rather than being something to interact with.
I still enjoyed the day and was glad for the experience, it was just a shame the my style didn’t quite fit in. Fortunately I ended up doodling to pass the time and this is where the original drawing for this piece came from. The inspiration is from a column on the Metropole Hotel in Leeds City centre, renowned for its Victorian terracotta facade. I was walking past it one day and took a picture of the column later sketching out a design based around some of the elements.
Metropole Hotel, Leeds City Centre
I decided to tie together these pieces into a series as the style, colours and theming are quite similar. With this particular series, as well as a lot of my other work in general, I’m looking to create beautiful, elaborate and intricate work. The work rewards examination as extra details emerge and the complexity of the works can be appreciated. I work in quite a maximalist style, with these pieces being great examples of this.
Always adding extra elements and details. A lesson I’ve learned from this series is to consider the composition a bit more, in order to make some of my work less busy. I usually build up the painting first as a drawing and then expand on certain patterns or colours as I work. This can be quite time consuming, as well as often hitting blocks or areas where I’m not sure what to do. I think planning the colours will help me to work more efficiently in the future. As this is art there is of course no right or wrong way, but perhaps more or less effective ways to work.
Colour is a main theme in this series that ties the pieces together. I’ve used some really strong and pretty colours in this series and also learned lots about balancing different colours together. The Azure Blue is one of my favourite colours to work with and one that I’ll definitely be exploring further. I also used one of my other favourite colour combinations; which is blue and orange.
I discovered a particularly nice combination of these colours when I was working as stage crew for a Paradise Lost gig. The lighting for the gig used this colour scheme really well and I fell in love with the bands music and atmosphere because of this awesome lighting. ‘Enchantment’ actually takes its name from a Paradise Lost song, something I’ve only just realised writing this blog!
The pieces ‘Longing’ and ‘Expression’ feature science fiction style alien beings. I wanted to envisage a world not unlike our own, in a perhaps not so distant future. Familiar elements of Architecture are here, but surrounded by unnerving ever watching beings. These piece take influence from a wide range of subjects, primarily Classical Architecture, Psychedelic culture and Science Fiction. As beautiful in colour as they are unsettling to gaze at, the combination of past and future collide head on in these pieces.
I’m really happy to have finished this series and am pleased with the results. To have finished this series is a big achievement for me and one that comes with all the usual joy, excitement and baggage that creating art comes with. I find the early creation stages to be the most exciting and inspiring, with the middle and finishing stages more difficult.
Some of this joy of finishing art is a relief to have climbed the proverbial mountain and be able to survey the landscape from the top. I often talk about the baggage of creating art so I won’t dwell on it too much here, lets just say it’s not always a smooth process from start to finish!
I’m delighted to announce that ‘Enchantment’ is in an art competition! Vote for this peice in the D31 Art Prize below
If you’re able to vote for my piece that would be very helpful and hopefully some of this background information has helped you the understand the work more. If you’d like to hear more about my work process and inspirations let me know by commenting on this blog or emailing me.
Follow the link here to vote for the piece https://www.d31artgallery.com/exhibition
''Resemblance of a Past Future: Enchantment'', Acyrlic on wood, 2022
