Against the Flow Drawing

Kellie Thomas-Walker's acrylic on canvas paintings take the form of expressive abstraction and gritty surrealist cityscapes. Drips and pockets of glistening pigment emerge against folds of effervescent coloration in an almost Baroque approach to light and shadow. Layering and texture flourish against occasional traces of urban-inspired graphic architectonics such as buildings and roadways. Shadowy caverns, manifested through aggressive painterly gestures and somber trembling hues, lend visceral appeal. Born to an artist mother, Thomas-Walker is an advocate of creative catharsis and the belief that art can “purify” and “cleanse” one of past experiences. Of her work she maintains that “Each piece is a continual prayer.” These stunning large-scale works of acrylic impasto capture the life of the soul; they are an invitation to enter the sublime states of the untrammeled subconscious.