Drowning in Chemicals

Posted by: bobbywashere on: August 17, 2008

In: Paintings
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The finished painting:

1.5m x 1m, Acrylic on canvas (2006)

The finished painting can actually be viewed from two different perspectives. The artwork mood changes depending which way you decide to hang this on your wall.

1.5m x 1m, Acrylic on canvas (2006),

The original idea was to feature a lemon and ice cubes but I changed my mind once I had got to this stage. What you leave out not what you put in, at least that’s what people are always telling me and in this case I felt it would lower the tone of the darkness I was aiming to achieve.

Study of Ice Cubes, Biro on paper

The final sketch of the painting before making a start on the canvas, I usually pin this next to the canvas until the painting is complete. This keeps me focused and true to the original concept. An annoying habit of mine, in my highly critical opinion anyway, is I sometimes miss the rawness of the sketch and the painting looses a bit of life in the transition. Not in this case though!

Final Sketch, biro on paper

After drafting the initial idea I always develop the idea a bit further and decide whether or not I am going to convert into a painting. I can on some days have over a 100 thoughts, ideas and filtering these though to a final image is a way of checking what I think is a strong concept and what will work visually for me.

Original Sketch, Biro on paper (2005)

The initial idea, a sketch completed on some paper and pen from behind a bar in Manchester. I was meeting my father on a Friday night in the centre. As usual my old man was late and after an hour an half I noticed a rapid transformation in the girls drinking at the bar and the original concept was to reflect this gradual process as a dripping down technique. As an observer I thought it would be a good way to reflect the process from soba into highly intoxicated manner and titled this Drowning in Chemicals. I should point out, I too have had many a night on the sauce but you don’t tend to notice the transformation or have the ability to record this popular British Hobby