Behind the Counter Painting

I graduated in July 2018 from Leeds Arts University with a BA Fine Art Honours as a very mature student. My work centres around figuration but aligns to a degree of abstraction in that my figures are not wholly defined, however they do have their own identity and relationship to each other.This degree of ambiguity allows the viewer to complete the images for themselves and to make their own interpretation. My process defines my individuality. I resist draughtsmanship and likeness and instead use mark making and layering and then interpret these using pareidolia. Pareidolia is the process whereby, for example we see images in the clouds. When I start my paintings I do not have a preconceived idea but begin with acrylic paints, making random marks using varied sized brushes and palette knives. Letting it partially dry,I them wash off some of the paint under running water. This leaves interesting marks on the canvas.I then study the residual marks and begin interpreting them using oil paint and a colour palette that seems to compliment my ideas. Memory and consciousness combine and figures and places start to emerge. For example a beach I used to visit as a teenager and young adult, growing up in South Africa. Another is a coffee bar where the “in crowd” frequented. This led to my painting “Giovanni’s Coffee Bar”. As a mature artist many images from my past lie dormant and then influence my work so many years later. One doesn’t realise how much we store in our memories. This is why I describe my process as painting from the library of the subconscious.