Resolving an Unfinished Piece of Painting; Process and Looking

'The Land was Alive with the Sound of the River,' acrylic on canvas, 80 x 40 cm

This painting went through many changes until I decided to let it stand. Too many unnecessary elements kept forcing their way in and what I wanted was to leave the green as a presence with incidents running across it like a river. So I erased pieces of painting to recover some areas of simplicity. The title refers to the way that I feel that colours have a 'sound.'  I always remind myself that there is rarely perfection, just a glimpse of something that has meaning and mystery and can be explored on the next canvas.

I'm sitting here with 2 canvases in front of me that I'm trying to resolve and glancing at them in between writing. I find that more and more I spend a lot of time looking at work, or I leave it for a while to be considered if I am not sure how to proceed. Sometimes I work over paintings very fast, destroying most of the colours and shapes until I find the forms and colours needed. These 2 troublesome paintings have been through several incarnations over the last 3 months. 

Below is one of them. I feel that I need to sort out the lower third of the painting and also the left side. I want a slightly more gradual transition of colour. One of the reasons I usually leave a problem painting for a few days is to get a more objective view of it. Just a few days away from staring at it obsessively can be enough to let the actual distracting parts stand out. Sometimes after some hours of working, I am too emotionally connected to see the work as a stranger might.

'Stepping Through Colour,' acrylic on canvas, 70 x 50 cm

Painting needs so much patience! Not every painting can take the same path; some arrive quickly and surprisingly, some can take months, and I've gone back to work even years later if something sticks out as irrelevant or wrong. I learn from all and constantly reassess what works and why and how to take the best elements from my work and try to extend them each time. I feel that it is like casting a net and pulling in different sparkling items which I then chose to keep or throw. 

This has been one of my busiest and hottest months! I've booked my ticket to go to China on August 28th for the Beijing International Art Biennale, as an invited artist (accommodation and expenses covered) and I have been shortlisted to speak at the symposium. I always told myself that if I ever got the chance to speak at an international event, I would bite the bullet and give it a go. My proposed speech is on the theme of my painting and also covers the theme of the Biennale, 'A Colourful World and a Shared Future.' I timed my speech and it is just over 4 minutes. I'd rather it was short and to the point. In case I am selected I now have to prepare a PowerPoint presentation. 

'A Traveller's Story,' acrylic on wooden panel, 89 x 41 cm

Here is my most recent painting which is on a piece of wooden panel I bought very cheaply at a local store as it was about to be thrown! I found the surface really nice to paint on and experimented with thin glazes of colour over white and thicker, dripped colour. Transparent versus opaque. It reflects my feeling of being a Traveller through stories that emerge from the act of painting. It is also an example of a painting that I am very glad I stopped work on and left for a few days. I was actually going to work on it further but on second glance decided that was going to make it in to a different painting. So the choice was; do you want a new painting or does this actually say something? I felt it did.

Packing my Painting for the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale

My husband helping with wrapping the canvas

For this post I'm including some photos of my large painting being packed for its long trip to China for the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale (125 countries). I always become quite anxious about this preparation process, worrying 'Will it all go smoothly?' 'Will the van come on time?' and 'Will my painting arrive undamaged?' 

The narrow box with canvas inside and the end section ready to screw on

I ordered the box about 3 weeks ago and this time I made it narrower than for previous Biennales because I wanted to have less space to pack with materials. It worked out better because all I had to do was bubble wrap the painting and attach strips of foam around the edges of the frame to stop any bumping during transit. The canvas then fitted perfectly. 

I always need to have stock of bubble wrap, foam padding and brown tape available for exhibitions.

The box with labels

It all does take a bit of time because I also had to stick labels on the box and write on it, just to be sure! You can't really see from this photo but the box is huge - around 175 cm high, 135 wide and 6.5 cm deep. It was very heavy to carry up the stairs and then it went in to the van.

I sighed with relief as the van drove off!

The collection was 5 days ago so it must be well on its way now. Here is a photo of the painting. I framed it in a wide, off cream frame.

'Walking Towards a Shared Future,' acrylic and oil on canvas, 120 x 160 cm,

The Biennale opens on August 29th at the National Art Museum in Beijing.