Joe Kealy

I'm a semi-abstract mixed-media dauber who works with acrylics, oils and pastels on canvas and Arches paper. I'd broadly describe my paintings as a blend of abstraction and representation. I fuse order and form with irrationality.

I'm currently working on a series of 99 paintings. All the paintings include a series number and an eight-pointed star painted on the canvas, which uniquely identifies the work as being mine. The eight-pointed star symbolises infinite possibilities, expansion in all directions, and the breaking of structure and limitations, and is emblematic of how I create my art.

When I start one of my paintings, from the outset, I'm not really sure what the end result will be. Through a process of daydreaming, riffing, improvisation and happenstance, the composition unfolds dynamically . I want the end result to be a mystery as to where it came from, something non-linear. For me, this approach makes things interesting and creates something unique and singular.

My approach to painting is what the Italians call "the spirit of improvisation", an intuitive flow state. A process which, from start to finish is a constant wrestling with and overcoming problems.

What I'm aiming for in my painting is gesture, movement, line...