Coaxal Disarray

A little about the painting

This bright and uplifting abstract painting was created with a series of poured lines of paint. I angled one of my tables and fixed it onto A Frame, then attached canvas to the table with spring clips.

I then started pouring different coloured paints down the surface, at intervals, until I got the kind of colour distribution I was after. The excess paint was captured onto the same canvas lower down (this is one part of it that I cut after it was cured). That piece sold before it even made it to the website.

Is it any good?

The result of all this preparation and effort is a painting that is filled with goodness from every single angle. There is a playful exuberance to the way the stripes interact with each other and also the way in which gravity has played its part. No line is the same as another and on loser inspection, some of them go off at all kinds of angle, even though they all appear to be straight!

I used a thinned version of my enamel paints as these more viscous versions flow a lot better and will actually keep reasonably straight lines as they travel down the canvas face. It’s worth noting that if you’re expecting absolute line perfection then this is not he painting for you. And that’s okay because although I love things to be in precise order I also love the fact that you can get the same feeling with the opposite. This is a painting that reflects that brilliantly.

Living with it and why the name?

It will hang very happily and give you that instant hit of precision whilst also keeping you on the edge of your seat. More time staring reveals all kinds of tiny nuances that counteract the argument for order and regimen. I love a bit of Yin and Yang.

The name is derived from coaxal (not to be confused with Coaxial). It refers to a common starting center or starting point. In this case, it’s the top edge. Everything can be derived from a single line of entry. The disarray part comes from the aforementioned slip into disorder, even though you think it’s not apparent.