Figure No.3 Painting

This painting is part of a series inspired by historic costume patterns. I was drawn to these designs as they reduce the human figure to a series of measurements and cut out shapes. The human scale in each painting is important to me and the costume patterns enabled me to create hard edge abstract paintings rooted in representation of the figure. I am inspired by patterns such as historic floor tiles and mosaics because I see them as the human intervention into the landscape. The structure of my paintings is developed through geometric drawings and precise measurements, often using recurring elements found in pre-historic pottery or textile designs. I see these patterns as a universal language of circles, squares and triangles which form the building blocks of ever more complexity. I choose to paint in a square format to reinforce this link and aim to incorporate what I consider the human presence. This can take different forms such as fragments of figure drawings or man made objects and architectural features. In previous works I have used reflections, repeats, tiling and overlaying grids to generate compositions. When I paint I am conscious that the fundamental materials I’m using are ground earth and rocks. Applying them so they build up in layers reminds me of the process of sedimentation in the landscape. In a way the paint surface becomes a cave wall showing evidence of chance happenings over time which influence and react to the composition painted onto it The final paint surface shows the effect of gravity with many unexpected rivulets and meanderings which show the history of the way the paint was applied. I see this as a process of chance and control where the unplanned aspects that occur during the act of painting interact with the pre-determined defined limits of the composition, including the edges of the canvas. The contrast between the fluid areas and the dense flat areas of paint creates a shifting sense of foreground and background. The colour relationships are developed intuitively responding to the environment around me. For instance, blues represent the sky and I use the colour of building materials such as brick, plaster and sand in response to the urban world around me.