Saltwater

More about the painting

Saltwater is a large blue abstract painting that derives its color choices from my love of the deep oceans. It also features hints of purple, violet, black, gold, red, aqua and white. These are very subtle in places but definitely needed to help bring a little action and drama to the canvas.

It began life with a base coat of charcoal and Royal Navy blue that was brushed and blended but not allowed to cure for long before I started on the top layers. This kind of painting is all about timing. A static background would not let me flow and mix the top as I wanted so it all had to be done in one session.

How I created it

The liquid base coat was placed underneath a square rotating platform that also has the ability to move up and down. So, essentially,  I can tilt and spin right above the canvas. What this means is that I can pour paint onto a canvas above this one and let the paint move until it begins to fall off. Saltwater is therefore created entirely with dripping paint.

It’s spectacular forms are placed and moved by me using the rotating platform above it. That allows me to control where paint drips onto the canvas surface and also for how long and in what positions. I can control that by continually adjusting the position of the canvas underneath to place the falling paint into the place I want it to go.

Now, if all that seems a little convoluted and difficult to visualize then try watching the video below – that should fill in the gaps for you!

The finished piece

It’s pretty captivating to stand in front of to be honest. That’s not something I say lightly either as I am very critical of what I do. Study closely and you can see the power of ocean currents and swells. You can feel waves breaking on the coastline. You can see and feel air bubbles rising from the deep. I can sense the depth of the deepest trenches and also see the skies from below the surface.

Our oceans are a world within a world so to do the subject justice I wanted to promote that feeling of power but also of beauty and grace. In some of the detailed photos you’ll see tiny swirls of paint and a million different tonal shifts. You get a richness that is as diverse as the very thing we’re talking about.