This section is dedicated to the different abstract works I have created since completing an abstraction painting course at ANU.
This first project explored mixed media techniques and a graffiti style. Also using found materials to make the final work
Solar Flare
Mixed media on clipboard. 2023.
This series was the final product of the previous experimentations, using collage and acrylic paint to create striking and dynamic pieces. They were also created on found material (clipboards). They took heavy inspiration from graffiti and geometric designs. These works also incorporated my script— Naoris, which I developed.
For the Next Generation. Acrylic on Canvas. 2023
After finding this style, I wanted to adapt it into a full painted version on canvas.
This painting For the Next Generation (2023) explores the irreversible damage we have done to the Earth. Shown through the organic shapes in orange and then the destruction in black over them. I also left a message, using Naoris, around the edge of the painting to further emphasis the themes f the painting.
After these experimentations I moved onto a larger project utilising similar techniques but at a much larger scale.
Original sketch
Digital sketch
Digital sketch with colour
Colour study of sketch
Underlayer sketch on wood board
Progress on wood board
The Coming of Dawn
Acrylic on Wood Board
2023
The Coming of Dawn is an acrylic painting on a 89.7cm by 120 cm wood slab. The theme of the work is inspired by the awe and majesty of space and its inhabiting celestial bodies. Within the piece I depict the spectacle that are black holes. The title of the piece and magical incantations are references to humanity's own hubris, the doomsday clock, and wanton destruction. I was inspired by historical depictions of the seen universe, constellation maps (Johann Bayer’s first Star Atlas prints), and contemporary interpretations of celestial bodies, such as Dr. Brock’s Jupiter’s Great Red Spot oil painting. Within this piece I incorporate all I have learnt about my abstract painting style; including my love for geometric lines, circles, colours and fine details, and new elements such as dense pattern areas, interpretive celestial cartography, etc.
During the process of making the piece, I did have a moment of artist block and hit a point in which I was not sure how to go forward. During this time I did some more research into visual aids to better understand what I was representing. After finding adequate visual aids I continued pushing through the artist block and was eventually able to find my passion for finishing the project. Another struggle I faced was naming the piece, since I wanted it to reference destruction but also new life. These opposing forces made it hard to find a title that captured exactly what I wanted. So I looked into the doomsday clock and their references to midnight. Taking inspiration from this I decided to call this piece The Coming of Dawn to represent the beginning after the end.
After completing these more geometric structured abstract paintings, I wanted to explore more fluid abstraction. Thus creating this series called Nature’s Call.
Trails. Acrylic on unprimed canvas. 2023.
Sky. Acrylic on unprimed canvas. 2023.
Earth. Acrylic on unprimed canvas. 2023.
Currents. Acrylic on unprimed canvas. 2023.
Nature’s Call. Acrylic on unprimed canvas. 2023
Nature’s Call
As I was initially making these works, I had the foundation of wanting these works to express freedom; however, as the series evolved I recalled the unrestricted freedom of childhood creativity. When there were no rules in place, just pure creativity. Nature’s Call is a series that expresses a sensation of childlike wonder and creativity. I want the audience to embrace the magic in unseen colours in nature, the unfiltered joy from music, the mess of creativity, the basic fundamentals of what we all remember childhood being like— fun, free, a burst of colour.
To convey this message, I approached my paintings experimentally. I did this through experimentative studio practices, exploration of mediums with materials and the incorporation of vivid colour palettes. To express the childlike creativity I worked with unprimed canvas and acrylics, this resulted in an interesting aesthetic— almost like watercolour, similar to a story book.