Five Guys Named Mo
40inches x 30inches on stretched linen canvas, framed in Tasmanian oak; acrylic and mixed media
Artist Statement
A large canvas hanging on the studio wall for almost a year was used as a repeated slop board; that’s a spare canvas to take all the unused paint leftover from each day’s painting. A terrible ugly mess if you will. To make some sense of it all, I used one of the expressive drawing exercises. Inspired by my Oyster Reef painting, I used a grid to mark out the territory, not thinking of anything other than squaring off and making circles. The shapes and faces started appearing, so I coaxed and coerced these five guys out of it all.
See attached pictures of the exploration stage.
Using repetition with variation, pattern to define spaces, line and marks to create expressive features in the faces and bodies and little bits of collage for interest. The background is covered in the highest key and scratched back to reveal all the ugly and wonderful colour underneath.
One of my favourite places is the British Virgin Islands in the Carribbean, so I imagine my five guy as a musical troupe, perhaps a steel band playing at a beachside hotel, hence the pineapples!
Limited palette of Quin Red Violet, Thalo Turquoise, Indian Yellow, Quin Red gold.