29 May 2013

Subconscious Musing: acrylics on sugar-paper, 59x86cm.



Duality

Acrylics on canvas, 60x60cm.
On my recent visit to Arran for my working holiday I took with me four canvases each 60cm square. I am intrigued by this sqare format and think that I can do wonderful things with them - they are a good shape for placing two decent sized figures side-by-side, or a single subject filling the whole surface. The intention was to take these canvases with me out on field trips and paint direct from life, but I took cold feet, not wanting to stand about in public painting at an easle. I have done it before but maybe I'm getting too old for it, certainly more reticent about exposing myself in public to the looks and comments of passers-by. I hate being a side-show for the tourists especially when I am struggling to make a decent painting worthy of viewing.
So these four boards were kept firmly indoors at the cottage where I was staying where i had set myself up in a makeshift studio in the kitchen/dining room. This painting came from one session where I allowed myself to open up and freely express some of the thoughts in my head. Or in this case these two heads - one full of energy and life, and the other, darker, a shadow of it's friend. The concept I was exploring (again) is one of personal duality. In fact that's what I'll call it 'Duality'.

Salsa Night

Acrylics on paper, 59x43cm.
This came from an amalgum of two pencil sketches I made whilst at an introductory salsa dance night many years ago. Nothing came of it that time probably because we were still thinking in terms of Cha Cha Cha, Rhumba, and other Latin American, along with Modern Ballroom of our regular dance club which all have a very different basis of rythm and movement. But that was then, and this is now. The dance club we went to at that time has long since disbanded but we still need to get out of an evening and shake those hips and move those feet. Salsa is the only dance class currently available to us in EK so two weeks ago we went along to see how it would be and where it would take us. Although the music is not 100% to my liking it is still fun to dance and I'm glad to say we enjoyed it very much! So this sketchy painting came with the beat and the action still in my head demanding to be put down on paper for me to relive the enjoyment of the night and what better place to turn to than my sketchbook for inspiration.