Still life with crab

Chromacolour acrylic on MDF board. 59x79cm. Completed 7th April 2010.

Still life with crab

I believe the Dutch still life painters were simply the greatest ‘recorders’ of what I like to call ‘the surface of things’. This is a contemporary version of the type of work done by the likes of Jan Davidsz de Heem or Willem Kalf, Dutch genre painters of the seventeenth century. The Dutch masters were the first true photorealists.

This is based on a photograph I took late in 2009 and it features a mango, bananas, a blue swimmer crab, a pineapple, a chinese hand painted bowl with capsicum, peaches, strawberries and grapes in it – there is a wedge of blue cheese, a seashell, a gold vase with roses and even a snowflake curio object in the painting. The table was a round one topped off with a difficult to paint cloth which is what I call ‘flip-flop’ colored. I think the technical term would refer to it as ‘interfering’ with the light.

Still life with fruit

Chromacolour acrylic on MDF board. 20x26cm. Completed 16th August 2009. Private collection.

Still life with fruit

One of great loves is that which I have for Dutch painting of the seventeenth century – which I consider to be the first era of photorealism.

As a contemporary artist I use a computer, but I still have to use my artistic skills to manipulate paint with brushes. I particularily love still life painting because they paint the surfaces of things so accurately and it is a joy to the eye to see what a two dimensional, flat, colored, bit of board (or canvas) can convey of the three dimensional world. When it is done well it makes me rather awestruck. This is what I try for in all of my work but its not the only thing.

Vanquish

Acrylic on MDF board. 90x132cm. Completed 5th August 2009.

Vanquish

Painted as a homage to the greatest painter of photorealism, Richard Estes, this features an Aston Martin painted in front of the cityscape of Houston. The drawing was very time consuming, and then, the painting of the image wasn’t too much of a problem. This piece was chosen mainly because it was a very difficult work, visually stunning, and intended as a homage to the American artist who’s work who inspired me. Taken from Autocar magazine (18th April 2001) it features the new Aston Martin Vanquish, the car was designed as the flagship by its new owners Ford and represents a stunning mastery of all that represents the quintessential design hallmarks that set this marquee apart. The car was driven before it’s release by a journalist across the USA and photographed against an incredible backdrop of the city.

The two page spread had to be scanned into the computer before being joined, then the text removed. Buildings like this were a time consuming challenge and took 150+ hours just to draw! All up 556 hours was invested in the work before it was shown at the local library. The windows were one of the most difficult passages I’d undertaken and the gravel car park wasn’t far behind in getting it to look just right. The car by contrast was very easy. Upon completion it was rather ironic that it was to be a Vanquish in the picture as I felt I had truly conquered the mastery of my technique.

Vineyard

Chromacolour acrylic on MDF board 15x30cm. Completed 20th September 2009. Private collection.

Vineyard

Landscapes can be very difficult to paint. The surfeit of chaotic detail, with its myriad of subtle, variations of color as well as incedibly intense hues present huge challenges to the artist. I use the best acrylic paint in the world (Chromacolour) and this certainly makes things easier.

This painting is of a vineyard in Yarra Glen, the heart of the Yarra Valley, famous for its wine, I painted it hoping it would appeal to tourists. It was reasonably difficult to do because trying to get the realism just right on this small scale requires acute observation and a very deft touch using the OOO brushes that I use 80% of the time.

 

Crowd of spectators at a football match

Chromacolour acrylic on MDF board. 20x26cm. Completed 27th July 2009.

Crowd of spectators at a football match

This is a crowd of spectators at an Australian Rules Football match. It’s a happy, contemporary, abstract painting and very dynamic. The skill in making something like this isn’t very high but nonetheless it’s not something that does have a lot of love and passion put into it.

A bunch of flowers

Acrylic on canvas. 29x29cm. Completed 24th January 2010.

A bunch of flowers

I love the idea of flowers against a black background. This is halfway between realistic and total abstraction. This is another work inspired by the Dutch flower painters of seventeenth century. I usually don’t paint on canvas, and I usually mix my paints for a matt finish. This time I decided to change. Unfortunately the photograph doesn’t convey accurately the real thing and the black towards the right hand side has reflected back.

Alien landscape 3

Acrylic on MDF board 49x90cm. Completed 26th July 2010.

Alien landscape 3

This is the third in a series of Alien landscapes. Contemporary abstract painting is varied, and there is a wide range of approaches and techniques. The painting could be a minimalist work with something as simple as one color or it could be a riot of colors, shapes like the above painting. I greatly prefer complex, chaotic and totally abstract painting. It could be a view similar to what we see in satellite photo’s or it could be a typical view of a landscape full of flowers. That’s entirely dependent on your own perception.

Alien landscape 2

Acrylic on MDF board. 90x60cm. Completed September 2005.

Alien landscape 2

This is the second in a series of Alien landscapes. It could be a view similar to what we see in satellite photo’s or it could be a typical view of a landscape. An artist who seeks to make ultra contemporary abstract paintings should look to subject matter to inspire them that is – ‘way out there’. So when I started this one I intended to create a view of an alien city that is full of life. It’s not unlike our cities here on earth with their vertical architecture, but it is considerably more organic in it’s construction.

Contemporary abstract paintings are often riduculed by the general public. That’s fine by me – I get a great deal of enjoyment out of flicking, spilling, dropping and brushing on the acrylic paint. The emotion and concepts behind the alien series of paintings are strangeness, uniqueness and beauty. If someone doesn’t see what I had in mind as an artist, when trying to create such an artwork, and see’s something completely different then that is fantastic. A totally abstract paintings meaning is entirely dependent on your own perception.

Alien landscape 1

Acrylic on MDF board. 90x60cm. Completed June 2005. Private collection.

Alien Landscape 1

This is a contemporary abstract painting of an alien landscape. Because I see it as such doesn’t mean you will too. It could be a ballet lesson full of pretty young girls to another person. That’s the beauty of total abstraction. For me it’s similar to a satellite photo of a planetary surface. Paintings such as this are princpally about beauty more than anything else.

I am greatly influenced by Jackson Pollock and Jean-Paul Riopelle, who were both prominent artists of the mid-twentieth century.

 

Despair

Acrylic on MDF board. 60x90cm. Completed May 2006.

Despair

Emotions tend to be ‘heightened’ amongst artists. Possibly because of our creativity. Conveying an emotion like despair involves the use of sombre colors, and an array of muddied shapes.Sometimes I get very depressed and I believe this abstract painting shows that emotion. I feel that it’s not appropriate to turn to a doctor and put my hand out for pills. One simply has to re-focus on what is important in life and the go out and make the best out of it all.

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