In the Studio: Playing in the Unknown

Painting is always playing in the unknown to a degree, but when you’re in a transition phase, that’s especially true.

Transition periods are both exciting and uncomfortable.

I’ve found that I don’t choose them; they just happen, sometimes catalysed by the completion of a collection or project, or by a life event outside the studio.

Ideas swirl around, everything feels open and soupy. It can be unnerving, as it often comes with what can feel like long periods of not making new work, but I know by now that the painting always comes back.

The studio is such a teacher about life, if you’re open to it. Lessons abound in letting go, allowing, acceptance, and faith in what you cannot see with your eyes.

And when I’m in a transition phase, I get to play more - to try things that might not fit into my usual practice, and see to see how I can push that usual practice further.

At the moment I’m thinking a lot about expressing the experience of being in water without attempting to paint what water looks like.

It’s a challenge for sure! I tend to default to trying to paint the water, and sometimes just have to get that out the way so I can push ahead into something more interesting.

The challenge asks me to reach into the unknown and the invisible - to sensory memories and experiences in the moment, and translate that into something visual that invites the viewer to connect with that feeling in themselves.