A long contemporary painting in deep gold, rich pink and bright orange
Amazing textures, long sweeping shapes and effortless lines equal a painting that’s individual, detailed and packed with personality
Rock Lobster is, in many ways, a triumph of colour and shape.
Balancing such strong tones is never an easy thing to do; then manipulating them to move and flow into such a beautiful series of movements is even more difficult. For me this painting succeeds on a number of levels.
Firstly, the overall shape carries your eye from one side of the canvas to the other without interruption. The whole thing looks like it’s moving to me – like a single mass. Secondly, it’s the colours that gently wrap you up and squeeze you.
If it wasn’t for the inclusion of a warm yellow the painting would become too harsh and cold. I’ve got this under spotlights in the gallery and it looks amazing – the colours really pop out. And thirdly it’s the textures (something so tricky to capture with a camera).
I used a new technique to add small ridges of clear resin underneath the paint layers to give it some highlights as the light catches it from different angles. Again you’d need a direct light source to appreciate it but it’s another reason why the painting works so well.
I’ve shown it hanging in two different orientations in the pictures but it’s equally at home hung length-ways too – perfect for a tall space with not much width. Take a moment to browse through the additional photos (below) charting the creation of Rock Lobster from the first pours of the base layer to the finished thing.
