Where do I start? The first thing to notice is that from a sensible viewing distance the painting is very controlled and linear (i.e. the painting is very balanced, no single part of it dominates another – almost like it’s made up of a single entity). I didn’t want to highlight any particular area as this would detract from all the other areas – and because it is so big this would be a disaster as you would miss the rest of the painting from this distance. Getting a flat, uniform appearance from a drip technique is hard to do and requires constant monitoring as the paint is going on.
When I look at this piece I get balance from a distance, a singular, linear mass that has obvious structure but still acting as a single entity. As I move closer I begin to see a completely different story as the detail in the stroke work becomes apparent. These pictures reveal such a small part of the painting but represent the astonishing complexity of the paint and how it has been applied to the canvas. I painted this piece over four days allowing certain parts to dry whilst others I did not.
30 hours of painting and preparation, 12 metres of wood framing, 10 feet of canvas, seven wooden spoons, six litres of paint, five spatulas, four litres of primer and a couple of aching knees are what it took to get this painting from an idea to a finished piece. It takes a particular kind of mind-frame to attack a canvas of this size, especially with a drip painting. This is the reason why I don’t do many of them in this size – it’s just a monumental effort to organize and paint. It has taken eight months to dry properly, such is the volume of paint on it.
This particular piece measures 2870mm x 1440mm x 45mm. It was painted in six 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 (see above) then wrapped around a seasoned timber frame, so the painting wraps around the edges.
Samson as been sold
To see the video of this being made and to view my complete portfolio of paintings for sale click Large Pollock style drip painting bySwarez
