275cm x 150cm (108″ x 59″)
Rainbows End was created with enamel paints during one of my Live Stream broadcasts. I am particularly proud of this painting for two reasons. First, it’s because of how I painted it – using the world’s only rotating barrel machine. I kid you not, this actually exists and you can watch the whole live painting event here.
It’s a unique device that Ady built (my colleague) and we have used it on a few occasions on our live streams. However, in terms of sheer joy this one of the greatest of the barrel paintings for me. The colour intensity is outrageously deep, the lines are perfectly spaced and horizontally accurate and the details are simply outstanding. It’s been one of those paintings that, despite its apparent simplicity, hides a remarkably complex creation.
The second reason is because of why I painted it. It came at a time during lockdown that was especially difficult, not only for myself and Ady, but for so many others. Months and months of isolation, the depths of a never-ending winter and day after day of grey, rain-soaked weather led us to compose a painting to bring light and hope. It was a cathartic experience to set everything up and paint – live in front of the world. I think it’s fair to say that we succeeded in a spectacular way!
This is a painting that has the potential to reach you on a number of different levels. To begin with there are simply the colours. This multi-coloured attack on the senses is a celebration of things; a tilt of the head backwards on a bright sunny day. Notice how it reaches from darkness to light and how everything is capped off with sunshine yellow and bright white? It’s a deliberate ploy to make you feel uplifted and to mimic the feeling of earth and sky.
Which leads me nicely onto horizon points. Our brains are wired to make sense of everything around us so it’s probably occurred to you that this feels like a landscape – perhaps with water and trees and a sky with the sun. You may have already picked out your horizon subconsciously but if not, don’t panic! It’s only a suggestion – you may get something completely different.
The story doesn’t end there though. A closer inspection (have a glance through the close-up shots) reveals details and nuances that this rainbow of colour may not have suggested from afar. Tiny cells, carefree flows and tiny lines all appear in places you wouldn’t expect. So it really is a painting you can enjoy from any distance – especially up-close.
Drop me a line and I will get back to you as soon as is humanly possible!
Prefer a call? Great, we can have a quick chat about the painting and how easy it is to view
