high grain negative cloud Painting

A cousin of mine is a keen parachutist; she has an affinity to the sky. I was looking through photography of sky and clouds she had posted to her Facebook page, I was very drawn to a couple of these photographic images and could see how they may translate to my abstract painting style. I was not completely happy with copying the images straight as they were, so I spent some time making filter enhancements by up loading them onto my cell phone and making adjustments to the original photos with the filters on the phone. It was when using a filter to process the original photograph into a negative image that I really hit on what I was after. The look of my paintings have a similar visual quality and texture to photographic images that have been taken on high grain fast film. This leads us to the title of this piece; ‘high grain negative cloud’. In many respects the title is literal, it tells you exactly what it is, a painting of cloud made with the visual look and texture of high grain, high speed photographic film (I have turned up the grain somewhat). The more hidden meaning is about melancholia, depression, the dark clouds that can fill our minds. Yet, the darkest part of this painted image is actually the sun breaking through the cloud (it is black because it is a photographic image in negative). A Buddhist concept (the mutual possession of the ten worlds) tells us that even in the depths of hell we can find the life-state of Buddha. With this in mind the painting offers hope even amongst the storm clouds that gather from time to time in our lives. This painting creates contradictions and questions that begin with whether the painting is abstract or representational? It blurs between the two, an abstracted image, made to represent something. Yet is it an abstracted image of the sun breaking through cloud or a representational painting of a high grain photographic film negative? The subject of melancholy and depression mentioned earlier gives rise to thoughts that I was reflecting on emotional and mental distresses, yet the Buddhist concept of the mutual possession of the ten worlds makes this a painting of hope. The painting has been made by placing stretched canvas on the floor. A brush being loaded with paint and then tapped gently above the canvas to give a spray effect; the surface becoming made up of small dots and splashes of paint giving some surface texture; although this is quite minimal as the paint is heavily thinned. Layers of paint are applied one at a time; wet-on-wet or wet-on-dry, and each layer of varying tonal strengths to the last, depending on texture and visual effect desired. Painting is signed, dated and titled on rear. Ready for hanging.

Painting:Oil on Canvas

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:39.4 W x 39.4 H x 0.9 D in

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