Black Gold I Painting

Born in 1952 in Glasgow,Scotland,I attended Glasgow School of Art where I studied drawing and painting.During the latter part of my second year I began experimenting with,shaped paintings,Chinese calligraphy and was influenced by the abstract art of Constructivism,together with Abstract Expressionist and American Pop Art. I became interested in shaped canvas, concave and convex shapes. I then developed this further with fiber glass reliefs which were painted using industrial car paints. Today,I prefer to use the lighter weight of gator board,and build my reliefs with the board on a white pine frame,with the intent that they appear to be suspended off the wall. I have always been interested in simplicity and complexity within a painting and the idea of taking simple shapes and infusing them with color and dimension allows the viewer to see something other than just a flat shape. Squares, triangles and circles are seemingly simple shapes, but when color and dimension are added, things are not quite as straightforward as they seem. I enjoy bold, strong colors, and using acrylic spray paint allows me to build up layers, blend in or be perfectly flat. The current series of paintings are built in relief, and are hung off the wall emphasizing the depth and shape, which gives the illusion of floating, hence the title in Gaelic of “Sia Fleodraidh Cearnach” which translates to Six Floating Squares. I have drawn inspiration from both Scotland and the United States and living here on one of the most beautiful barrier islands outside of Charleston, every day brings new and fresh ideas.