Pink dropcloth sunset clouds 2 of 2 Print

When I picture clouds, in my minds eye, I'm lying on my back in the grass looking up... except when I picture sunrise or sunset clouds; then, the self of my imagination, is sitting by water. Images of clouds have appeared in my artwork over the years, but I think this is my first time really focusing on the shapes of groups of clouds, like small flocks of sheep they can gather in groups, and this series of cloud silhouettes celebrates that aspect of clouds. The positive and negative spaces are explored with colour in or around the silhouettes, and the backgrounds feature colours of summer skies, dusk, dawn and sunsets too. The sunset pink background is a dropcloth created from the paper that covers my work surface when I paint. In this case I was painting Valentines themed artwork, and these are the colours that collected on my work surface. Dropcloths collect marks from pencils, pens and crayons as I check colour or doodle, they absorb paint spills from things that I paint, and they pick up patterns and textures of things that rest in the paint and marks from my coffee cup, amongst other things. These random spills and marks are a collaborative process between my artwork and my environment that make, over time, patterns I find fascinating. West coast sunsets can be truly spectacular, in shades of pink, yellow, peach, orange and red and this cloud silhouette series includes orange, pink and red dropcloth backgrounds. I hope they evoke memories of relaxing at the end of the day watching a beautiful sunset.