A Thousand Words

Bring the purple!

A Thousand Words is a large scale abstract featuring a serries of interlocking angled paint stroked using purple, pink and copper colours. Added to this are accents of white, silver black and an amazing metallic blue. In some places you can also see a fine metallic gold too.

I don’t do many of these lines/criss-cross/angled stroke paintings very often (tricky to know how to accurately describe the technique?) but when I do it is with great anticipation. This is an evolution (as they all are over time) and in particular the current make up of the paint is lending itself towards some very interesting details and features.

This painting also marks the first time I have used a colour called Boston Blue in one of these paintings. It’s very unusual to describe but it kinda has a residue that appears when you drag it – like a vapour trail from an aircraft or something like that. The blue tends to split itself into the dark and light components very quickly as you thin it down – it’s a very cool effect and one that’s not present in any other colour.

Adding metallics

The inclusion of copper makes a world of difference. Not only in the way it catches light as you move around it but also in its ability to bring warmth and familiarity. it also acts as a go-between by bridging the gap between the cold and warm tones. it feels very natural and help to ground the painting.

Additionally to that we have silver. This is a stark contrast and brings a strong, robust quality to some of the smaller areas. Then we have the fine gold I mentioned. This is woven in very delicately so that it only really appears when you least expect it. Again it’s in stark contrast to the way I would normally use gold and it’s amazing to see the little veins appear as light hits it – yet another unexpected bonus to this unique original painting.

The small stuff

The details in this painting are a real treat and quite surprising. From a distance you may feel like this is just a load of lines placed on angles and, whilst that is the foundation, it is by no means the whole story. Spend a little time getting closer and you’ll discover a whole world of intricate details that a distant glance would never reveal. Perfecto!