idiom

This series was generated by my exploration of combining the use of loose graphite powder, raw pigments and oil paint. The paintings were primarily about the materials and the personal language that developed with their use. The considerable difficulties in controlling these materials and producing a stable surface were easily outweighed by the myriad of surface qualities they offered and facilitated many ways of drawing on, into and through the layers. The subject was hinged on the notion of ‘elemental scapes’: natural elements such as air, earth, water and the material elements used in the making process. 'Nature' signifies vastness and allows for abstraction of the imagery into formal concerns, but in most of the paintings there is also a small suggestion of mans presence, perhaps a crumbling wall, an arch or column which serves as a bridge between the 'picture' and the 'painting'.