SAT 7 OCTOBER
A painting that feels on the edge of danger... and flamboyance, the twin rose lines almost decorative. Colour or sea - which is the stronger? Dense reds and greens, jostle and pulsate, the forceful sea batters - something- threatening to overwhelm. The tall black bar is both a solid and liquid, a different strength, a holding force amongst the surrounding chaos.
A physical piece: paint punched and poured, gouged and cut, aiming to match the physicality out there, the elemental forces of wind and water...
With the bad weather, the red ball was raised on the pier and the dark baulks lowered into the gap, to protect. But the waves pounded, almost over at times. Tension - different strengths, pushing.
This was the idea for the painting, re-inforced by two drawings, with the triangle of the side of the slipway in shadow prominent. The turning point in the painting was changing the orientation to something less literal, more powerful.
A companion piece to 'Porthleven 60 (The Gap)', looking the other way, from the back of the harbour to the open sea.
The soundtrack for this piece was, appropriately, the raucous, scathing, romantic, visionary, uplifting 1985 album by The Waterboys, 'This is the Sea'. .We're going to see them next week in York and catch up with Ollie.
