Land Spirits

'Land Spirits,' ink and acrylic on watercolour paper, 28 x 38 cm

This is one of the works I am entering for an international drawing Biennial. As the deadline nears I have spent the morning framing the two pictures. Though the Biennial focuses on drawing, this can be in any medium and I tend to draw with paint rather than draw with pencils or charcoal. I used to do a lot of portraits when I lived in Cyprus using charcoal, pencils or coloured pencils, and it was always a good basis for observation. These latest works are more concerned with the flow of the medium and creating shapes and marks. After working on rice paper for several years I am exploring Chinese ink on thick watercolour paper. The response of the paper is completely different as the colour does not sink in to the paper as much. I like both papers, each for different reasons.

The title of this work refers to the eternal aspect of the world. The horses crept in because I wanted some animal reference in the painting and I like horses! There is also a slight reference to cave painting.

The deadline of this Biennial is near the end of the month and I should know the result by the end of June.