An Evolving Language

'Memory,' acrylic on canvas, 10 x 12 ins

I'm posting some new works, made in the last 3 weeks. I'm alternating between works on canvas and ink paintings, and have attempted working with colour on the rice paper. This has been an entirely new challenge as rice paper has a great absorbency and any kind of colour you lay on it tends to sink in and lose its intensity. As an artist who loves colour, this has pushed me to have to make instant and definite compositional decisions. 

'The Land of My Eternal Memories,' acrylic on board, 40 x 30 cm

Any elements you learn through one medium always seep into work you are doing in another medium, and I have found that very positive visual changes are appearing.

'China-Poem,' Chinese ink on rice paper, 35 x 33 cm

The trouble with laying colour on rice paper is that it tends to flood through to whatever is underneath the paper. Then it sticks! I laid some of the rice paper on plastic and some on newspaper. It took an hour to prise the 4 paintings off the newspaper and plastic, though the plastic was easier to remove the rice paper from. My Chinese watercolours were not strong enough (except for the black and dark blues) so I had to add some gouache. But the colour is never very strong and you can not layer it very much - first marks have to stand.

'China-Poem,' gouache and Chinese watercolour on rice paper, 35 x 65 cm

I like working this way because brushstrokes and their life-force and suggestiveness really interest me, and I relish the emerging image and its leads on to an imaginary world.

'China-Poem,' (2) Chinese watercolour and gouache on rice paper, 35 x 33 cm

I see these works as leading on to many new discoveries in my pursuit of this evolving language, and my need to bring to life my internal world.