Next Year
In every new series I begin with a challenge – a new palette, a new way of applying colour or a new subject or perspective – and I will often set goals for the work. In “Next Year” I was striving to build high contrast, create a collage of painting styles and work in a limited palette in the hopes of creating work that is mysterious and lively. As with every series, I wanted paintings with energy and spontaneity.
Often my paintings have looked at industry and nature in awkward balance. Previous series have followed a pattern of compression and expansion. Spacious and expansive, “Rivers and Logs” (2010) explores industry’s effect on community. “Sparkelhuas” (2011) was stitched from scraps to form painted quilts focused on folk histories and the experience of individuals. In “Flotsam, Jetsam, Lagan & Derelict” (2012), space and expanse return and the landscapes become distant, malleable impressions. “Next Year” contracts once again to identify the unique personality of landscape and reveal the stories within its shapes and inhabitants.
“Next Year” expresses the potential of a future where we imagine ourselves doing more, being better, and pushing our boundaries.
This show opened at Madrona Gallery, Victoria.