Surrey Contemporary Art Fair 2022 Little Gems

This year, I have been working on a new collection called Little Gems. Showing this week at the Surrey Contemporary Art Fair 2022 I wanted to experiment with new ideas and push my materials further. By making small pictures I have been able to explore more ideas and techniques.

Here is Spirit Faces inspired by a book on Inuit Masks and ceremonies I found in a local book store.

Look closely and you will see scratch marks, this is because this piece started out as an exploration of African Textiles.

Look again at the bottom and you will see textures, these were applied before the idea of Spirit Faces emerged. You will notice that the paint is slightly iridescent. The top textures have been sanded.

I am intrigued by people and cultures and as a kid spent hours in the library reading books on anthropology.

When it was finished, I decided to explore the idea further. Spirit Faces 2 started life on a small piece of oil paper. Using the Sgraffito method I etched in the faces. In this version all the textures are on top. Look closely and you will see glass, gold and iridescence. The paper has been collaged onto canvas board and heavy mediums add more textures onto the surface. The shine comes from the mediums and iridescent gold and copper paints.