Monday, 3rd July.
“the respite of thought in the midst of a colour shower.”
Sketches, all approx. 60cm x 40cm.
The past few weeks I’ve been experimenting in stepping away for the digital collages in which I typically build my compositions and bowing to intuition; allowing myself to dance with the paint. These smaller sketches are quickly evolving, in their own time, and will make for bigger plans along the line.
Welcome back to my shopping list! Berlin has been hot, accompanied by sporadic and apocalyptic downpours.
I’ve been really enjoying the solitude of my space, something I never would have expected from myself, as at times I can have the temperament of a tamagotchi! I do equally love venturing beyond the door frame but having this space to contemplate, listen, read, inspire, scroll, write, paint, sleep, breathe and generally fill myself into, dust and all, has been magic.
My dreams have still been left untouched from the spindly arms of my creatures but, in true dream nature, they’ve grown all the more surreal. Since I’ve started painting here, my room is starting to feel significantly warmer which in turn has been driving my bizarre nocturnal narratives. I don’t know if this is due to growing crowdedness of general surfaces, the cool white walls being muted with scraps or maybe the psychological effect of my warm palette? Maybe all 3, and the secret 4th reason being that July has ticked into play.
I’ve also been known to feel the effects of sleeping in unfamiliar environments, generally a little more vocal, restless and once attempting a Houdini one woman show. I don’t think this idea will be resolved really, nor am I attempting to, merely surveying the different potential factors. But dreams are as they should be, beyond our comprehension or regulation, out of our hands as we walk hand in hand with our own psyche, navigating us through the wild.
Suminagashi Early Grey
I’ve been dancing between paint and collage in my sketches , a continuation of where I left off back in Dublin. The process known as Suminagashi is a Japanese marbling technique using ink & water which slightly repels yet merges together in a delicately staccato-esque print. Thankfully, I have an abundance of it!
It’s quite cathartic having breaks from autopilot painting with more precise, contemplative cutting and layering. Like the respite of thought in the midst of a colour shower.
A short & sweet list.