My most recent painting, shown below, is another mixed-media on paper (approx 55x44cm), titled ‘Falling back to earth’, but one which took me rather by surprise. I’m conscious that most of my work still has discernible land/sky horizons, and while I’ve enjoyed producing them, for a long time I’ve wanted to allow the work to become more abstract, though still influenced by my experience of the landscape. 

Then this one happened, seemingly out of the blue, though of course that is too simplistic. I know this will be a culmination of what I’ve been painting over the past months/years – all the ‘successes’ and ‘failures’, but it feels completely subconscious. 

I feel more confident in leaving lots of white space now, or editing into the work with white. 

(See some of my recent work here). 

I’ve also used a new blue-grey here too from Amsterdam acrylics, which combines with the red and the pink quite satisfactorily. And, crucially, I’ve stopped myself overworking the piece!

These occasional surprises are one of the joys of experimental painting for me.