the creation of an abstract painting, edgescape : meld/rain 2008...
[stretched canvas, with beginnings of surface texture]
[semi-transparent washes, scrubbed in and dripped, dark blue grey..]
[lilac and grey..]
[violet and blue grey, blurred and blended before fully dry]
[more vertical washes and layers, scumbled and stippled with a mix of violet, ultramarine, raw umber]
[lilac pink, blue grey, pale green, trying a achieve a more subtle, misty merging]
[areas reworked then 'burnished' to achieve more subtle blurring of layers]the painting meld - i now call this painting meld/rain - was an attempt to explore the merging of atmosphere (the ethereal) and lands(scape), about vision, lucidity, depth of field, the horizon, perceptions of surface and distance.
[close-up detail of painting surface...]this detail of the painting meld shows the centre section... meld is a comparatively new word in the English language, a merging of the words melt and weld, both a result of the application of heat, both sculptural, but with contrasting outcomes, in common usage since the 1930's.meld was completed between the months of January and March 2008 and it undoubtedly reflected a certain mood of melancholia felt at the time... dull grey light, many days of rain and a dark studio room make for slow, sombre paintings...for an exhibition catalogue, i said of this work: 'meld' evolved from an investigation into the history of eroded surfaces. Within the textures of patina and decay I saw parallel landscapes, evoking the changing weather and seasons, and the effects of natural phenomena such as drought and flood, symbolic of a state of impermanence..view more abstract paintings in the edgescapes series......