2020
Acrylic on cradled birch panel
30 in x 30 in x 1.5 in / 76.2 cm x 76.2 cm x 3.81 cm
Although my paintings are often viewed as abstract, they are rooted in a deep history of porcupine quillwork, which is rich in pattern through shape, colour and composition. This new series marks an experimental departure, where I will explore new painting techniques that expand beyond solid blocks of flat colour and sharp lines reminiscent of my ongoing body of work. I plan on exploring softer lines, building texture through the use of paint mediums, layering of colour and under paintings and truly building out the paintings so that brush stroke is very evident in the paintings. The use of colour in my work is very important, and reflects the ways that ancestor artists have used vivid colours to express various states of time, place and season. I am diving deeper into the materiality, construction methods and colour theories of ancestor artists, by conveying new dimensions of physicality in my paintings.