artwallace

There is an exploratory quality to my work with an extensive range in theme from nature to Celtic imagery to the sea, magic, the elements, the night sky; an individual approach to the handling of shape, layers and reflections and experimention with different media including mixed media, wax encaustic and egg tempera. Colour and texture are vital elements.

The images are surreal having a fantasy-like quality; the viewer knows that it is paint and yet experiences the essence of the fruit, the fish, the flower, the landscape, the people. Suspending belief the senses are invoked to see, smell, touch, taste, hear.

For example my latest paintings are inspired by a recent sojourn in Piemonte, Italy where I breakfasted daily on 'spremuta d'arancia' (freshly squeezed oranges) of every hue from tangerine through to persimmon. Images of orange groves full of ripe fruit suffused in golden sunshine are a feast for the senses. I want you to smell the citrus oil, be tempted to pluck a fruit from the tree and taste it right away.

The use of paint as a medium has a more exotic effect than a photograph.You are captured by your own imagination and transported to an 'imaginary' place. Communication between artist and viewer, that meeting of imaginations, makes a piece succeed as a work of art.

Using the ‘sgraffito’ technique a painting evolves by working on emerging images - ‘scratching’ through layers of paint to reveal colours from below. Threads of colour mingle - it’s almost like weaving a tapestry. I continue to develop this technique by applying paint with a brush which is partially removed using various materials / implements to create different textural effects.Wax encaustic is sometimes applied giving a lustrous sheen.

The deckle edge and fabric-like quality of Fabriano Artistico paper gives another dimension. The paper is frayed deliberately giving the appearance of a fragment. Manipulating the fragments transforms, strengthens and magnifies the image. Torn edges, fragile paper contrast the robust nature of paint, the physical dominance of creativity. It is a powerful sensation to 'tear' the painting knowing that it is the right thing to do.