A New Psychedelic
Hunting Rainbows, 2022, 130x100cm, acrylic on canvas.
A new direction for a painter can feel like a major challenge for a painter. Adding more psychedelic colours to my work has been something I have been thinking about for a long time now. I always worried that it might take the work in the wrong direction, like making it look forced and less real or momentary.
The painting above (Hunting Rainbows) is my first significant foray into that direction. I’m hesitant to include things like rainbows or even more imaginary elements in the work. But at the same time I feel the need to explore and test. This painting was an old painting that I never felt had been completed and it sat there in the studio with me while I toyed with ideas. And then, one early morning I just thought what the hell, this is the perfect painting to take that big risk.
I have been sneaking these ideas into works previously, for example in the painting In Spirit I had wanted to explore the idea of a black sun, but I hadn’t made it centre stage and you could overlook it almost as it feels quite natural. In other works I often invert the sky to a darker colour or other subtle changes just to give the work a little more of an ominous feel. This visual language I am developing is almost subliminal and visceral, where the environment has a feeling rather than an overt explanation.
I will try and continue this direction for a while and you can see some more of the works on the paintings page that I think show even more confidence with colour.
