I completed these two pictures several months ago and they are typical of the way my art has been going for some time now. I like to create complex images which often take years to complete. At this point in time I have half a dozen such pictures at various stages in their development.
The underwater world has always fascinated me, especially coral reefs, and I like mermaids. I began by making sketches then I got a model to help with the design of the human part of the figures. In my spare time I began to sift through hundreds of images using my computer to make prints of anything I thought was useful. Then I tried out various arrangements of fish. The coral details were put in last. Next time I’ll probably do it the other way round. The technique I use involves the use of ground colours and the build up of numerous glazes of oil paint. It’s my intention to achieve a sensation of very vibrant colour in deep space. Strong colour tends to flatten space so this a challenge. The final effect looks a bit like 3D. The colours are so optical they virtually glow in the dark.
This kind of painting is obviously very different to Impressionism or Post-Impressionism. Not that I’m knocking either of these styles. I enjoy painting from life and I admire artists who can catch a scene quickly by painting on the spot. However there are some subjects that can’t be painted from life and the world that exists under the waves is one of them. I enjoy painting detailed pictures and this obsession with detail has something in common with the works of Outsider artists. In terms of the history of art a love of ornament and artifice has always existed. Unfortunately we have lost a lot of this in our modern age. In a future blog post I will try to unravel the roots of this style war. Why is there a conflict between art and architecture that is essentially imaginative and organic and that which is largely functional?
Before long I will be offering approximately twenty-five of my pictures as high quality archival prints. These Fine Art prints are laid onto rag paper using pigmented inks. They are very beautiful and thanks to advances in technology they can now be produced at very reasonable prices. It will be possible to buy these images directly from my website so watch this space.