FROM DARK TO LIGHT

From Dark to Light

Dez Rez Projects - March 9th - 3rd April 2022

This installation FROM DARK TO LIGHT comprises of 7 paintings taking centre stage in an empty shop window on Deansgate, Manchester. All the paintings vary in size and medium and are based on fleeting moments from journeys and walks I have taken in the last year around Manchester with my children, and when cycling to the studio in Ancoats. Each moment is captured from photographs or quick sketches from life and then worked onto canvas in more detail in the studio.

The main focus of the installation is the painting “Flood” which was inspired by the flooded woods of Didsbury Fletcher Moss. The two main colours of this painting then flood the backdrop of the empty shop window, and then continues to flow to the rest of the paintings. The piece was an experiment in letting the subject matter affect the way I paint and consists of many layers of inks, oil and wax. I used the inks loosely and freely like the flooded water, and once dry I then layered with wax and oil, keeping it rough and coarse like the bark of the tree.

Other paintings included in this unique installation are “Roses” taken from a scene of roses that have made themselves at home and flourished along the man-made doctor’s fence near my house. I liked the contrast in the natural colours of the plants against the unnatural blue of the council fence. As per the scene itself I wanted to play with the composition of blocking what the viewer can see in the same way the railings block some of the flowers. This is a concept that I play with again in the painting “She has Wings”: the green railings a barrier, stopping the viewer entering the painting any further.

Colour and mark making are used expressively in all my paintings and I enjoy experimenting with how colour can affect our response to each work. The colours and subject matter of the paintings, taken from natural surroundings are in stark contrast to the urban environment of Deansgate that they now inhibit.