acrylic on paper
I have started a new body of work. I am painting leaves on paper, water colour style only it's acrylic and much thicker, more like a gouache I guess. Although the painting requires quite intense periods of concentration, I am enjoying working on a much smaller scale. I am working on paper 20cmx40cm, which I have ruled into four panels, each containing a painting of a single leaf. The idea at present is to paint roughly ninety-six individual leaves, cut each panel in to a separate piece and the sew them all together. Why? It's a fair question. I want to present work that examines the notion of collecting and the obsessiveness of the collector. I believe for the art works that I am proposing regarding the collection, mass is an important element. I also want a response from the viewer along the lines of 'that is just crazy'. I want to produce labour intensive works. And while they are labour intensive as a whole, as an individual each leaf takes me about an hour to paint, which is great when you are time poor in the studio.
The collecting of the leaves has included my children who help me find them on my studio days. They understand the type of leaf I like to paint, well seven year old Ella does at least, she has found some great leaves. Three year old Charlie however finds mostly dry leaves that have already lost their lustre. I tend not to paint his leaves, I prefer them brightly coloured with a waxy, flexible quality to them.
As I mentioned, the plan is to cut each panel and sew them together, but I am beginning to consider other possibilities for display. Having said that I think I will finish this piece as intended and make another work to be displayed in another manner.
