I have spent the last few weeks undertaking a redecoration of my studio. Even though I am a little obsessed with surface texture, the daily sight of a very clumsily applied woodchip wallpaper was jangling with my senses. A delicate peeling of a loose corner one day revealed a wallpaper of the weakest character, barely clinging to the original wall. After much peeling, scraping, sealing and repainting of walls, my eyes are finally comforted by their renewed smoothness. The colours in my work in seem brighter for the subtle change in light, and I have some new ideas to combine collage, print and paint. The walls are the blank canvas, and the small works are the little flourishes of colour within the white space. I am reminded by the artist Howard Hodgkin in his desire to have a defined space around his paintings, so next on the list is a long-awaited de-clutter. In the meantime, here are three small works on panel I completed recently for a gallery show, a little more abstracted, patterned, decorative, a little easy on the eyes...
Erthe I, II & III, mixed media on wood