Thinking is time well spent and discovering new artists

The past few weeks have been full of artist research, reflection and planning. Revisiting Joan Eardley, enjoying her energetic and spontaneous brush work is making me think 'how can I loosen up, not get too bogged down with detail and don't allow my work to become tight and over complicated'. Chatting through my initial thoughts for final exhibition paintings with my tutor and mulling over possibilities of shape and scale prompted research into the work of artists Ian McKeever and Michael Porter. Instantaneously transporting me to an amazing  world of texture and boldness with themes that directly resonate with the elements I am exploring in my research and practice and inspiring me to think big, think deeper and more conciously and work out a way of discussing my paintings more effectively. Be brave!

I want to make paintings that describe land, the solid mass and the living soil. I want to make paintings that imply the legacy of human activity on and in the land. I want to make paintings that dig deep beneath the soil in all its living, breathing magnificance.

Taking time to just sit with paintings, looking and thinking is so worth it. All sorts of new ideas pop up, particularly about composition and colour, and spending an hour just looking and jotting down thoughts as they flow through my mind allows for consolidation, space for new decisions and ultimately makes for a better painting.