A large square contemporary art painting made up of dragged lines
If you like bold, bright colours then this piece of art will appeal to you enormously.
Two fabulously rich colours and a host of other pleasing and familiar tones make this artwork an absolute hoot.
Creating this large square contemporary art
Big paintings are never an easy thing to do. They require space to begin with – enough for me to lay out the canvas flat for a start. Then when you have the painting imagined in your head you still have to find a starting point.
With Back to Reality I began with paint lined up on opposing sides of the canvas. Using a drag and remove technique I pull one way then the other, removing most of the paint as I go. This is repeated until I build up enough (very thin) layers of paint that are sufficiently colourful and deep enough.
I’m always thinking about how big the lines should be, how far they should stretch and what should sit next to them and so on. Working on the floor though does make life tricky sometimes as it’s difficult to stand back far enough to get the perspective I need to make decisions. I always get there in the end though.
The use of black in this artwork
The use of black in this painting is perhaps the most important one by far. One dragged out spread near the bottom and the other very pronounced one near the centre. Now, with a painting that can be turned all the way through 360° the impact of both black lines will change considerably. In one orientation it looks like a woman sat on top of a rock or altar, looking out into a cave or a sunset; in other orientations it’s a sunset over rocks near the sea.
What I think about this painting
On one hand I think this is one of the most sensible, mature and confident paintings I have ever done and on the other it feels completely mad.
This could very well be the greatest strength of this particular painting. It has the ability to change its mood in a heartbeat. It just goes to show that choosing the right piece of contemporary art can make a profound difference to your life. Being able to rotate it is definitely an interesting bonus in my opinion – it’s almost like having four paintings in one!
Those bold colours of purple and orange will reflect any mood you throw at it. Sure it’s very bright and colourful and it is also large which gives it a sense of occasion, but the real secret of understanding something like this is to not think about it too much. I think it’s also very gentle and reassuring too and can’t see it ever fighting you to the floor as you walk past it.
Oh….my…..goodness! This is immense, but it’s messing with my reality. Just when I think I’ve found the horizon, I find another horizon and another. Multiple horizons, ultimate horizons……..OK, I’m stopping now. It’s brilliant.
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