Edge of Colour Exhibition Part 1

Edge of Colour Gallery Statement

“If I were a painter, I should paint only colours: this field seems to me freed of both the Law (no Imitation, no Analogy) and Nature (for after all, do not all the colours in Nature come from the painters?).” (Barthes) The principle that art defines the way we see the world has been well established, the maker and viewer are equipped with cultural knowledge: “Our senses have an age of development which does not come from the immediate surroundings, but from a moment in civilisation”. (Matisse) The process of making has, over time, led to colour being the only real direction for my painting. Working with drawing and colour, at once apart and yet inextricably linked (what are two lines without the defining space in between?), the edges of colour define the parameter of the image and by inherent irregularity involve the external environment in the experiential manifestation; the outer edges are no longer formatted. For pictorial operation colour needs colour. The interaction of the quality of colour is both the image and the structure. The structure of colour is its literalness, it is no longer contained in the painting or the apparent shapes within, rather it operates on the outside of the image working against and with, drawing, surface and depth. But, then there are new criteria evolving through process. The use of chromatic grey and areas of colour that directly support others to maximise the potency betray a practice starting as analytic. But through realisation, my painting is essentially to do with the innate instinctive energy of colour. It often feels that the work has developed on its own accord into an area of self manifestation. It is true that there is a suspension of belief in the making and an unconscious state linked to instinctive drive . Painting is an ordered chaos, the result of the paradox of conscious intention and unconscious act. The energy of colour in the larger paintings must be different from that in the small works. The increased area allow for a depth and permeation of colour through the painting as well as across the surface. Despite the illusion of organisation, colour has led the way and continues to do so, overriding shape and redefining the pictorial space on its own terms. In pursuing light (sensation) even the conscious decisions to upstage the conventional fade as the painting reaches a state of fusion , something I describe as totality. At this point, when the painting is at a stage of resolution, the process has to be left because familiarity enters the arena. Above all, colour must be felt. It is something instinctive. “Colour has its own meaning”. (Kelly)

UNEARTHED: the creative remains of a brownfield site

Distance of Colour is the work made for Unearthed that explores the creative legacy of Carpenters Road studios now park of the Olympic village. The work tracks the distance in time and physical space that my main concern of colour has travelled since the studio era to the present. Click here to visit Unearthed.

P STOP - THE ODYSSEY

Concept of the project from the organiser: Stoppage complex as a standart and functional object is always against its surroundings. This man-triggered gap is now softened by using transparent partitioning in modern design, through them you can see the surroundings. Unfortunately futuristic design of stoppage complexes in Perm together with semi transparent plastic they are made from, have made stops modern, but rather tight environmental objects. This entire “figures of silence” we want to turn into the objects of active communication. Stoppage complexes in Perm will be transformed into a field for representation of art, namely “П-stoppage – 3” of new ideas, images, feelings. This experiment allows not only to create another one route for the contemporary art in Perm, but also to formulate new expectations and tasks for functional objects from the city. Concept of the artwork: ODYSSEYBased on the classical Greek poem, the story of Odysseus journey is transferred visually into 6 separate stops along a given route through the city: LOTOPHAGI, POLYTHEMUS, NEKUIA, SIRENS, THRINACIA, ITHACA. Designs are printed with inkjet onto transparent film for adhesion to the stop. Click here to view the series. From this proposal Ithaca was chosen in the first round and with the initial plan of 119 stops due to increase to 600, the others may follow for printing. Museum of Contemporery Art PERMM, within the Public art Program realisation. Perm Center of Developement of Design.

Venice Biennale 2011: 54 International Art Exhibition

Venice Biennale 2011: 54 International Art Exhibition report following recent visited supported by Wales Arts International Venice Travel Award.

EDGE OF COLOUR: NEW WORK

New work currently in progress for exhibition Edge of Colour at Bangor Museum and Art Gallery April 2012.

LONG STORIES FOR PERM: SPEED OF COLOUR - SEVEN COLOURS RED PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

Seven Red Project was completed in one day, 2nd May with a superb team of painters in the Avenue Popova (Mall Aisberg), centre of Perm with three extra panels using the 'interval' design element and adapting to some panels being upside down. Excellent acrylic paint with good saturation means the 42 panel wall carries a vibrant long story for Perm. Click on the title above for full set of images.

LONG STORIES FOR PERM: SPEED OF COLOUR - JAM SESSION - COLOUR GRID - IMPLEMENTATION

Implementation of the design 'Colour Grid' for Jam Session, painting the longest fence in the world (Guinness Record) Long Stories for Perm, Russia on 1st May 2011. Click here for progress images and the final work.

LONG STORIES FOR PERM SPEED OF COLOUR SEVEN COLOURS RED DESIGN

Click on the title above to view the final design for the 40 panel fence at Mall Iceberg, Perm

LONG STORIES FOR PERM: SPEED OF COLOUR JAM SESSION DESIGN

Special project / campaign with a codename «JAM SESSION» – during one day all of the authors and volunteers will go out and paint the longest fence this year - the fence around the Hippodrome. Total length of the mural will be 835 meters (350 sections) - a new Guinness record (previous was 550 meters - the wall around the mall in a town in Malaysia), each author will be granted 12 sections of fence. Each project will be connected / switched in the design of the colleague’s / neighbor’s project (eg, silhouette completion of your "piece" on the left and right, that your co-worker could "catch" or add their images to yours) - we are planning that this huge mural will be implemented as a game - sort of large-scale visual bouts-rimés. To make such a large collective work, we are also proposing to limit the palette with any 2 colors (color, hue, tint on your taste) and prepare graphically (without gradients, and additional colors) the solution to your visual ideas.

LONG STORIES FOR PERM: SPEED OF COLOUR. SEVEN COLOURS RED

Seven Colours Red has been successfully submitted to the Long Stories for Perm (Urals, Russia) Public Art Project May 2011. Click on the title for the link to the project web site.

New Gouache Works

New gouache works are currently being created. These paper and water based paints are all approximately 25 x 50 cm (image size). They are works in their own right rather than a study for or after a particular painting. Materials include Lucas and Windsor and Newton Gouache on Royal Watercolour Society 250g paper.

Main Outside Studio Building Works

Work is on going on the front of the studio as 20 years of weather have taken the toll. New windows, fascia board and blasting what was left of the painted surface is taking place. Underneath beautiful stone, light grey from Trawsfynydd and pointing in good condition. Today top coat of Atlantic Surf 1 put onto the two main doors. The colour is actually a hybrid mixed by Robinsons Bangor, a never to repeated blue.

New artworks in perspex and vinyl

Two large new perspex based works are in progress for bangor Creadigol installation later this year. To compliment earlier works shown in Kansas City Missouri, the new works are ever more demanding compositions capitalising on the process driven, linear aspect.

Review of Splott Bridge Artwork

The artwork on Splott Bridge is holding up remarkably well. Wales Online Review not traceable.

Digital Sketchbook 1: Shape and Surface

Splott Railway Bridge South West Side Completed

The fence came down 19 April at 1pm, so the bridge is now complete. The South West side, last to be painted, looks excellent. The dominant yellow appears strong in area and weight. The gold ochre has worked really well in threading the design together. Overall, the design seems to move along the pavement, the side of the road with style and ease. The two sides of the bridge are far away from each other to be distinct yet there is an awareness of the other side; the concept was that there would be a dialogue between the two sides of the bridge. This has been successful and the change in scale from artwork to design has led to the actual painted bridge far exceeding the idea. It is an absolutely superb outcome. Click on the title above for full photograph portfolio and below for the north east side.

Splott Railway Bridge North East Side Completed

On 16th march the north east side of the bridge was completed and the wire fence removed. Click on the title above to view further photographs of the 33 metre artwork.

Splott Bridge Artwork Painting In Progress

On 1st and 5 March I drew the design onto the bridge using chalk and black pen; large scale drawing and the painting of the North east Side had started on Friday. Painters Andrew and Paul painting the Blue sections to the North East side

Splott Railway Bridge Cardiff Artwork Final Designs

"A bare wall is a 'dead, anonymous surface'. It will come alive only with the help of objects and colour. They can give life to the wall or destroy it. A stained, coloured wall becomes a living object" Fernand Leger, On Monumentality and Colour.


Dear Mr. Smith,

I am a student of the Journalism school at the Cardiff University. As a part of an assignment, I am doing a story on the repainting of the Splott bridge. I'd request you to answer a few questions for the story:

1. What's the idea behind the design?

2. Which of the two are your favourite?

3. How do you think the repainting of the bridge will affect the residents of Adamsdown and Splott?

I's be grateful if you could answer these questions as they are indispensable for the story.

Thanking You,

Yours Sincerely,
Shruti Tripathi

Dear Shruti,

Thank you for your email. Here are responses to your questions:

1. The idea behind the bridge designs is to create a dynamic colour composition using shapes and forms gathered from the buildings, streets and places around the neighbourhood of Splott. The designs and colour schemes are named after streets in the vicinity of the bridge. The shapes came from features of buildings and small details that are abstracted and altered in scale. For example, a small pipe can become a large tube form.

On the colour choice, some came from pure observation. For example the golden ochre (in both designs) came from the victorian decorative tiles in many of the doorways around splott and the naples yellow from the horizontal brick work of the end of terraces (the bands in habershon also came from this). The other brickwork including a photo from the willows school of a pub end wall and rusty pipes at the steelworks informed the reds, and there is a fair amount of painted blue around the steelworks... But above all, of course, final colour was chosen for interaction, contrast and design needs.

2. I would have to go with Constellation as a personal favourite as it is the most dramatic of the two and the bright yellow perhaps will lift the south west side of the bridge that does not get so much sun.

3. I hope it will brighten that end of Splott Road for everyone that walks, drives and passes by into and out of Splott and Adamsdown.

Splott Railway Bridge Artwork Design Commission Cardiff

The commission is to produce two artwork designs for Splott Railway Bridge in Cardiff. At over 33m in length and over 2m in height this large scale exterior artwork presents tremendous opportunity. Working with local schools and the community two designs for each side will be produced to be chosen at a public consultation event. The Willows High School have kick started the project by carrying out a photographic project looking for shape and form in the townscape around Splott. Click on the title above to view the selected photographs from over 540 submitted. See here for my own research photographs. 

Visit to Australia for Le Cheile and Off Straits. Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney

Recent visit to Australia was very productive visiting major art galleries in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney whilst taking part in exhibitions Off Straits and Le Cheile. Breakfast meeting with artists including left to right Trevor Wren, Dani McLean, myself, Gavin Malone, Lucy Thurley, Veronica Calarco, Suzanne Laslett and Craig Marsden. Full report of the Le Cheile can be found on the a-n site Artists Talking Project Unedited. Click on the title above for visit photo set. Celtica festival was very successful with visual art exhibitons taking place throughout Port Adelaide at the same time as Le Cheile at New Land Gallery, featuring large drawing/print work and screeprints. Off Straits featured several of the acrylics on paper made for the exhibition.

Off Straits: Wales andSouth Australia

The twelve paintings for Off Straits are finally to a point of resolution today 10 days before departure for Australia. I have been working on these new acrylics for two months and may paint on them more in Adelaide. Really enjoyed acrylics and this is the first time I have seriously used them. Collaborative work with Veronica Callarco is also planned. See below for full project details..

Nant Gwrtheyrn Wales Ireland Residency

The spectacular location of Nant Gwrtheyrn and excellent weather made for a good afternoons painting on the works for Off Straits. Joining Pamela de Bri, Eileen Keane, Margaret Becker, Alison Craig, Linda Davies, Ian Williams, Eirian Llwyd, Ross, and Don Braisby there was time for collaborative drawing and plenty of discussion. It is just what the painting needed, an injection of tertiary colour in response to the unfolding horizon...
Click on the title above to see photos of the residency.