Paintings as complex as these are incredibly difficult to piece together. Layer upon layer of applications of different kinds of paint, a myriad of tools for applying, drying times, viscosities and colour balance are just a few of the components that are needed to start to paint a piece like Big Bang Theory No.2
Yet despite the intricate and involved methods used to commit paint to canvas this piece has a playful and carefree feel to it in the way that the paint dances and moves. Complex shapes and lines evolve in every direction taking your eye on a roller coaster of discovery.
One of the joys of drip painting is to take apparent chaos and randomness and turn it into a spectacle and triumph of colour and form. If you can get that, complete with an obsessive attention to detail, then you’re going to produce something truly inspiring. Below you can see just how close up the detail goes as these pictures show about an inch square of canvas. You just can’t appreciate the complexity of this piece without shoving your face into it. This is one of my styles of painting and something I am known for.
For many of the small applications I use the tips of a pencil – great for getting the smallest of drops onto the canvas. For the longer and more robust applications I use syringes, wooden spoons, sticks, kitchen ladles, spatulas and a set of custom made applicators wrapped in surgical bandages! Brushes just can’t get the effects I want to produce so I rarely use them. If you think that my drip technique is easy then try spending four weeks painting a 4ft square piece of floor with the end of a pencil and some kitchen tools.
Let me know how you get on OK?
This particular piece measures 1220mm x 1220mm x 38mm. It was painted in ten shades of oil based gloss and matt paint. Each of the paints was thinned to achieve a characteristically dense but even flowing consistency. It’s heavy which makes this piece feel substantial – and I also used a ridiculous amount of paint on it too. The canvas was painted on the floor then wrapped around a seasoned timber frame, so the painting wraps around the edges.