Progressing through Rebirth.

I started on this piece in 2019 by drawing a big snake on the canvas after not being able to get the spontaneous image out of my head. It was perhaps something I had dreamt, but this particular snake seemed to have a ridiculously illuminating aura. At the time I didn’t think it would become a piece with so many layers added over a relatively long period.

I wanted to paint it with a flow and use the time spent on it as a type of calming meditation. I enjoyed ‘letting the colours tell me where they wanted to be‘, no matter how cheesy that may sound. By using a toothpick I got to create an impact on the drops of paint on the tiniest level. I would carefully connect all the drops until they seemed to energetically flow back and forth. By using yellow glow-in-the-dark paint and creating a soft white fade against a black background, I was able to get close to the radiance of the snake I had imagined. Due to all of the added layers of paint, the canvas has begun to crack ever so slightly, which reminded me of the shedding that is done by snakes as they outgrow their skins.

This work has been all about progress and there are several parts in there that evoke the memory of when I was working on it, what I was thinking of and how I felt at that time.

This work was made with gouache paint, poster paint, glow-in-the-dark paint, gold foil and perlite (mixed in with the white paint to create a relief).