Emrys Blog

The three pictures have now been sited at MOMA in Machynlleth where they will be on view until 14th April

This is an image of the painting which is now complete.I worked on the piece before Christmas, posting images in the last blog. I thought it was finished at this point and then looked at it at different times over a period of two weeks, in order to be certain that there was nothing more to be added or taken away from the image.

The work will first be shown at Theatr Clwyd , Mold, in an exhibition of my recent paintings that will be held from 21st January- 3rd March 2012 ( preview  Friday 20th January,7pm to 9pm,  all welcome!).Included in the show will be works from Sarah Hope and Jan Gardner who were also shortlisted for the commission.

A period of intense work on the large piece, with changes, developments and an interweaving of foreground, middle ground and distance. I worked over a period of time on many parts of the painting; changing the” flower in box” elements, adding abstract signs  in thick white paint , erasing  or modifying their tone so they are like muted signs.I also worked on the foliage and tree, referring to the Botticelli painting with its laden quality of  overhanging trees. Parts of the picture were worked on with transparent wax, creating tension on the surface .I felt a great sense of getting lost in the work, improvising and trying things in a fluid manner.

These are new images of the large painting.I worked with the painting on the floor with stained colour developing the mid- ground of foliage and exploring transparent coloured washes to  suggest  back lighting , playing with spatial layers.

These are recent images of the large painting as it is developing. I have worked on the image of the tree, the reflection of this image and elements hanging from the tree itself.These elements include house- shaped forms that have flowers in, relating to the idea of the Primavera painting and abstract images that I see as motifs depicting elemental forms of energy or potential.Seeing the work in progress an artist friend said it looked like the work of an alchemist and a botanist; I thought this was a good way of describing the work in progress

These new pieces begin to develop the form of the tree situated in a dreamlike space; trees float on islands at night.In the trees there are forms that hang down which are illuminated or glowing with light suggesting potential and creativity.The whole scene is both night time and also like a stage set with stars up above.Flowers are growing but some are blowing through the air, as in the painting “The Birth of Venus “by Botticelli. (more…)

I made two larger pieces that seem to begin to explore layering of imagery and mark within a larger structure.In them organic elements are overlaid.I am interested in the ground as a stained element that works against image. (more…)

I have been away in France and made these new gouaches and drawings. They further explore images based on a tree linked to the Primavera painting. Made in the countryside they are improvisations that use motifs such as leaves, spirals, a distant rower. At this stage in making  small works on paper I begin to speculate on different things and  open up new spaces in the work, a free flow of visual thoughts to inhabit a potential place/space.They were not made from specific observations but were effected by the natural surroundings and the view over an orchard and the flat landscape that surrounded me. (more…)

More detail drawings…

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Welcome to this blog. Over the coming months I will be documenting the creation of a large oil painting to celebrate Gwanwyn’s fifth anniversary.The painting will aim to embody ideas about renewal and creativity, as well as referring to  “spring”  as a metaphor and a subject that has been treated in earlier art. These images are first ideas,  beginning exploring the image of a tree with objects placed within it; there are also reactions to the Botticelli painting “Primavera” which is in the Uffizi.The painting is a great exploration of the theme and will underpin the development of my painting in different ways.There are images of at least one hundred and ninety flowers in the painting; this idea appeals to me and in making drawings I began to explore flower forms. (more…)