Illumination Theory

A stunning yellow, black and grey abstract painting

So here we go with the whole darkness and light thing again; but not as obvious as it would first seem.
And I just LOVE this colour combination to bits.

Photographing art is difficult at the best of times but in particular this is a painting that I cannot do justice to with a camera lens.

It’s not that it’s overly textured like some of them nor is using any groundbreaking super-paint that has created some weird and wonderful effect. Nor indeed is it packed full of intricate details that form from microscopic applications into a rich cascade of dramatic shapes. So if it’s not all that then why am I creating a narrative around it being appreciated best in the flesh?

The answer to that is simple – light.

I don’t know if it’s the combination of colour or the way in which I have applied it that really makes this stand out but I do know how good it looks when you step out from behind a camera. In fairness I have used a new paint drier in the paint. This has the effect of accelerating the drying process and to harden and intensify the pigment by artificially speeding up the solvent evaporation process and letting the principle of autoxidation initiate faster. I’m generalizing a lot as there are other stages involved in the curing process but let’s say that driers have an unusual effect on the finished layers.

And this really is the key to the lustre and depth of the painting; it’s the chemical changes that have brought about a finish I have not seen or created before (but am going to use again). The yellow is more intense and its tonal ranges bounce from ocher to cream and every peach and amber stage in between. Once I get all that tempered with a white and black and those moody hints of silver what you end up with is a dazzling and spectacular leap into the sandpit of abandonment.

And what a great place that is. Playfulness, a disregard for authority and a lack of care for anything but the moment itself. Elements that come together to create a very real and utterly untainted experience. I like to think the painting carries a similar tone.

The cloudy areas of foreboding that surround the edges suddenly let go into a crescendo of breaking light. That wonderful, bright dazzling light. The ghost-like shape that dances alongside the black. A few well chosen spots of paint and a suitably dramatic background are elements that pull together to form a highly individual and unusual painting. Perfectly at home with neutrals or strong colours and just waiting to soak up some natural light somewhere.