On discovering Gerhard Richter Painting

As the title suggests this work was painting after discovering the German artist Gerhard Richter. I was in an abstract painting class as part of a visual arts course and on the day in question, teacher Dioni Salas took time to share a video about Gerhard Richter. As I watched Richter use timber planks to scrape paint, I felt a sense of liberation and excitement. For six hours I added colours to the work. I was not satisfied with the result and so covered the work in black paint and scraped it off to reveal earlier coloured layers. A week passed and I felt the need to add thin strips of colour which was achieved using every colour I could get my hand on and a lot of masking tape. The resulting layered effect reveals the creation of the work. Its darker underpainting hints at frustrations while the lines of colour reflect a more joyous view of life. Some say the work reminds them of a city at night. For me it is a journey of discovery. I submitted the painting in a local abstract art competition run by the Queanbeyan Art Society. It was awarded First Prize.