I've been silent on this blog for a few weeks, but very active in the studio.
My agent and I have been in regular contact, despite him being abroad shooting what will be a ground-breaking film for which I have been commissioned to produce the promotional image.
Collaborating on this film is a great honour for me – apparently I am the first abstract artist to have been commissioned for such a project. I can't show you anything yet though – it's still top secret!
Today I want to write about a few of my recent pieces. This is something I've not done specifically thus far on the blog – I've tended towards more generalised discussions, drawing on the work of other artists and their influences upon me.
So, for this week's post, three recent pieces, two large and one small.
THE RIGHT CHANNELS - 2022. 76 x 102 cm unframed
Painted entirely in a thick impasto of oils, this large canvas, THE RIGHT CHANNELS, explores my interest in the opposing forces of Stasis and Animation. Interestingly, I am told that the piece displays within it at least three diverse hallmarks of my artistic personality both past and current.
This leads me to ponder on the nature of 'style'. Sometimes, clients and critics will observe “ah, so this is your new style”, or refer to “your old way of painting”. I don't see things this way. To me, everything exists in a state of flux; nothing is permanent, and yet there is a context which endures. Echoes and resonances of work that I produced fifteen years ago constantly resurface in recent paintings and, fascinatingly, I see harbingers of my very contemporary work in some of my earliest canvases.
A DAY BY THE SEA - 2022. 76 x 102 cm unframed
This is an acrylic meditation, reflecting my love of monochrome elements. Greys and warm blacks offset the white of the negative space, while two subtly different reds offer a stark contrast. Black does not necessarily denote a dark mood, nor does red have to symbolise aggression – another over-simplification which constantly surfaces in casual observation. To me, depth and tranquility reside in this painting, belying its apparent simplicity.
A DAY BY THE SEA (In Process)
THE NEXT LEG - 2022. 40 x 30 cm unframed
THE NEXT LEG is the smallest of today's subjects. It is painted on board – a surface that I love – pinned to the wooden stretcher from a cast off deep-edge canvas. Created fast and urgently in acrylic, there are many layers beneath what you see on the surface – multiple strata of paint and collage which were subsequently scratched back and gouged out. The support being board, rather than canvas, allowed me to be quite violent! The tool used for this assault was a lino-cutter which I inherited from the artist Elisabeth Schettler, about whom you can read in the article 'SOME GERMAN ART...' on this blog.
THE NEXT LEG (In Process)
Discussions are ongoing for the placement of my work in various galleries in Southern England and for delivery to overseas buyers, with some paintings going into Bedfordshire galleries in the near future.
A lavish catalogue of my entire collection of both original work for sale and Fine Art Prints is being finalised by my representatives as I write.
Watch this space for further news, or drop me a message here if you'd like further info!
Copyright Haydn Dickenson 2022
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