Urban Undercurrents

Abstract painting

Dimensions: 36 x 24 inches (914 x 610mm)

Materials:

• Acrylic paints 
• Clay
• Sand
• inks
• Resin

Stretched canvas. Standard edge (19 mm).

Inspiration

Many rivers flow through both rural and industrial areas and housing estates. It's the intriguing, out of town industrial areas that inspired this painting. The river banks are often a mix of concrete slabs, earth and weeds, paint cracking and peeling, graffiti. There is a surreal beauty to these environments and although very urban, fish are usually there too, resilient.  You have to look for the fish though, they are often no more than a brief glimpse as they hide in the shadows and eddies, the light reflecting off the water's surface helping to hide them.

So this painting suggests the  rough urbaness of the environment, yet two small fish, modelled in clay, are hidden in the painting. 

Detail: Soft flat lighting - can you see the two fish?

Detail: when side-lit, such as early morning sun light through a side window, the fish and texture become visible and the painting looks very different. 

I used glossy resin to represent the water, it flows, dribbles and trickles through part of the painting, contrasting with the matt 'concrete' making the painting look wet in places when viewed from different angles.  

I have added a lot of texture to this painting, embedding locally collected sand, and building the painting in layers of paint and inks. This has created a painting that changes its character throughout the day, depending on the light. When side lit, it takes on a bright and contrasty look, with shadows cast across the painting giving it a very three dimensional look. When lit with soft, flat light, the more subtle colours and marks are revealed and the fish become hidden.