Tubular Spells

Tubular Spells is a series of four painted canvases and marks a real departure for me in my creativity; more on that later. This is a big painting and one that started life as a single large piece of flat canvas that was covered in matt black paint.

Over the course of three long paint sessions (which were recorded and can be watched below) I created a series of intersecting lines of paint that formed these four original abstract paintings.

I am fascinated by circles paintings and because of that I chose to build a spin machine that allowed me to capture them in a way that no one has ever done before – as halos. In some places you can see distinctive lines that form the arcs of the circles and in others the halos are comprised entirely of small dots of multi colored paint.

Infinitely adaptable

This set of four original artworks can be hung in almost any way imaginable. I have included a few examples of some of the possible combinations, but this is only really limited by your own imagination.

It doesn’t matter if you want to hang in landscape or portrait orientation, this set of canvases have a unique versatility to adapt to any environment – whether that be a long wall in an open plan space or a double height entrance or stairwell.

In my own gallery space I chose to hang them as two over two; this arrangement felt good as it made the most of the giant halos that formed the in first part of the painting’s creation.

Beautiful detailing

When you first get over the ‘wow’ of seeing this in the flesh for the very first time you then get drawn in to the bewildering array of complexity that these paintings possess. The technique of deploying paint from a rotating platform carries many stresses but the rewards are intoxicating.

As are the details of the paint as you move in closer. Not just where lines and arcs move across each other but in the individual deposits of paint. This continues around the edges of all four canvases so that painting continually moves into the next as you move around it.

In some places the paint looks like glass and this is down to the unique properties of my specially formulated enamel paints. You can see this clearly in one of the photos I have included.

Colours and placement

Almost every major colour group is represented in this bold abstract painting yet there’s never a feeling that one fo them is dominant. The ability to gain balance and breathing space, especially across such a big expanse of canvas, is one learned through much trial and error.

Perhaps even more-so when you consider that I cut the single piece (I started with) into four on the second of three sessions so I juggled all the positioning very carefully for two thirds of the creative process.

I gave every session a great deal of thought before I commenced spinning paint so that i could try to visualize what I would be left with when I completed the painting; not an easy task I assure you!

Tubular Spells is available to view in my art gallery and also in your own home if you live in the UK. If not, don’t worry – send me a few interior shots of your wall and I’ll Photoshop it in for you so you can see what it’s going to look like. Drop me a line today and let me transform that big white wall you keep staring at.