Colour

In theory i have always considered myself a coloursit, in practise im crap with colour. There are only so many times you can let out sighs of delight when squeezing out Alizarin Crimson from a tube. before long you need to realise that its not about one colour but the sucessful interelation of parts.

Since seeing the Hodgkin retrospective and reading some stuff by the wonderfully intelligent Bridget riley I have realised a few things. Enjoying colour and using it well are two very different things. There needs to be a firm purpose, a clear and rational underpinning in what the colours are doing. Rothko, Riley, Hodgkin, Titian, Veronesse, Turner are all exampels of artists intimately aware of the interelations of colours.

I waffle

I am getting close to finishing Icarus II (despite having thoguht i had finished it a while ago. At last colour is working in it, it has comes alive. The matt, light, translucent greeny yellow of the middle strip just sings when placed agasint the warm, dark, deep, shimmering reds of the 'walls' either side. no longer is it a falt plane of various greys. it now has depth, vibration, energy and life. If all else is failing, at least for once in my painting life so far i have managed to sucessfully use colours in unison, no just sexy seperate elements from a tube.