Exhale

About the painting

Exhale is a small sized abstract painting that was created with a series of painted layers and then put onto my spin table. It comprises of a black base coat followed by a series of poured paints including green, orange, aquamarine, French blue, melon yellow and a couple of accents of red and gold.

The result of this is a deeply engaging and wholly beautiful abstract that feels very connected to nature to me. It has a wonderfully light and carefree feel to it and one that can be further enjoyed as you move in closer to take a look at those incredible details.

Spinning paint

Like so many techniques, there’s nothing new about rotating a canvas until the paint flies off. But as with all these methods of applying paint it’s down to the interpretation of use that really matters. I am always looking for ways to explore the way in which force (be it gravity, centrifugal etc.) affects paint. This is why I like to think that when I use the spin machines (yes, there are now TWO of them) I can do something fresh and unique.

With Exhale I loaded paint to one side and spun until I found the sweet spot for the centre. The middle is always critical to me because that’s the point the painting radiates from so it has to feed the rest of the canvas sufficiently for the whole thing to feel connected and together.

I am particularly pleased with the jelly fish structure that sits in the centre. To me it feels like a kind of bio-mass that sits at the very heart of everything and from which all the other things emanate.

Details

For a relatively small painting this absolutely delivers. The delicacy of some of the fronds (what else can you call them?) is quite something. I have captured some of that in the photos but you really have to see it for real to appreciate them. There are all kinds of thing going on from cells to rivers and from waves mountains.

I am always striving for depth in my work and believe a painting should deliver form all points of view – whether you are up close or far away. Overall this is an original painting that sits perfectly between the feeling of excitement and contentment. never too risky but always present. Wonderfully grounded yet endlessly engaging.