What a difference a few weeks make!

I’ve been working on these two panels during March, they originally were made for the wedding of my daughter, Tori, in June 2020, which unfortunately was postponed until June this year 2021.

This March when the roadmap out of lockdown was announced in the Uk, the wedding was postponed yet again, so I decided to completely paint over these pieces and make her fresh ones for her big day, now in 2023.

Somehow the 2020 ones didn’t feel appropriate for such a long anticipated event, so I won’t even think about making a new one(s) until nearer the time, although I’m already thinking that it maybe a much larger one, which would be exciting, different and a personal challenge for me, ill look forward with anticipation to attempting that.

So I sanded the 2020 versions back, then covered most of the surface in paint and collage, which is my normal process and responded to what revealed with a fresh approach. These have come together relatively quickly and certainly far faster than their original form and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working on them freely, with no intention other than to enjoy what I was doing at each stage.

Once the composition in terms of shapes, tones and colours was resolved, it was the enjoyable process of refining areas, adding the accent colour of a deep, warm, rich terracotta, adding more small, subtle details, which are only seen when viewed close up , to add interest to the viewer and making final tweaks, I’ve decided these are now finished.

It’s very interesting to see how how these have evolved, I can recognise them as mine and I’m sure others will agree but they also feel very raw and exposing to me, possibly as they happened so instinctively, they almost made themselves and this maybe why I feel quite vulnerable sharing them.

So I’m in the process of deciding on their titles, which for me evolves over a few days, living with them, it’s almost as if they tell me their names, already they have strangely revealed a male and female personality, which no paintings have done before, so the titles will reflect that. I personally believe that the titles are almost as important as the painting itself, it’s another aspect and may equally contribute to the response of viewer, if chosen well.

An earlier photo whilst I was making final tweaks, displayed as a diptych, which I also think works well.