I am drawn to simplicity; clarity of line, colour and shape and a desire to create a sense of stillness. I aim to make paintings that ask you to slow down, that point to mystery and allow for contemplation. My titles might provide pointers but they are not explicit. I want the viewer to feel free to find their own meanings. Influenced by stained glass, illuminated manuscripts and the coloured acetate I have used in collages, I seek to create glowing colour and luminous shadows, experimenting with acrylic mediums and oil glazes to achieve this.
Internalising my experience, I try to recapture sensation by reducing and concentrating it within simple pictorial elements. I am interested in that moment of looking when shapes cease to be just shapes and we begin to attribute meaning to them. I enjoy playing with that idea of recognition while adhering to an abstract language that is not descriptive.
The Circle paintings are an ongoing part of my practice. The spiritual significance of the circle as a symbol of eternity, continuity and wholeness and it’s perfect symmetry make it, for me, the most appealing of geometric forms but it also provides a structure or armature from which to commence, a framework within which to operate. With the question of form sorted I can concentrate on colour, tone and the particular quality of the paint; matt, shiny, transparent, broken, according to how it has been applied. Circle paintings provide a template for an exploration of mood as well as infinite possibilities of improvisation.
Recently I have begun imagining the circle as a human microcosm, cell or atom, exploring the motif more kinetically. I have allowed overlap with other circles to create a greater sense of space and movement but containing this within straight lines that the circles jostle and jut up against. I have been thinking about borders and boundaries, how they keep people out or lock people in, so often ignoring our interconnectedness and interdependence.
Follow me on Instagram: @victhrelfall