The Self-Destructive Nature Inherent Within Virtuosity

The Self-Destructive Nature Inherent Within Virtuosity
Acrylic on Canvas 100cm x 76cm

With this painting, I wanted to explore using simple iconography how far the precarious nature of skill and focus can be pushed in the pursuit of accomplishment. To examine a profession that teeters paradoxically on the cusp of composure and fragility.  

The ballerina for me is a quintessential and very potent example of how virtuoso technique, talent and hard work coupled with the pressures manifesting themselves in these situations can often push the well being of the mind and body to a dangerous limit.

This artwork is taken from a series of paintings where I have been experimenting more freely with the warmth of golden hues, pushing the thickness of my brush strokes and the application of acrylic paint to express a more vibrant form of mark making.

Detail from Painting

 

Up On Celibacy Hill

Up On Celibacy Hill  Acrylic on Canvas 40cm x 30cm

As an artist and atheist I am interested in using the crucifix as an object for its heft, potency and weight. As a symbol it is unparalleled within our culture. This painting for me is of a grateful chore. As a non-believer I see the figure’s persistence holding nothing back, ascending the incline shrouded by orange humidity. The figure is giving up absolute control within life for God.  Salvation will present itself after death, if strict dedication is adhered to in life.  The choice of the word celibacy can be interpreted as the figure’s chastity, but I am also very interested in using this word to demonstrate the single-mindedness of someone seeking something, climbing to a supposed higher ground in the blind hope that could be read as delusional or oddly commendable.  I wanted to include the universal battery symbol to signify wavering faith, placing it next to the figure as a contemporary anchor to monitor the depletion of energy, the depletion of focus and the depletion of hope.

  

Detail From Painting