Forgive the obvious play on words but this really is as good as it looks and sounds.
I like to create paintings that can fit into our everyday world yet also give us a gentle nudge that life is to be lived.
I think this one fulfills that mantra perfectly.
There’s something very reassuring about semi circles (I like to use the words loops and arcs too). We see them everywhere. I can’t really put my finger on why I like to paint them so much, but for some reason I do. Maybe it’s the sweep of the arm or the completeness of the arc that I find soothing or maybe it just feels good to paint them. Either way they are a very pleasing shape.
And so in La Dolce Vita we have the semi-circle (sorry, loops) in abundance. In fact it’s the only shape that appears anywhere. There are eleven of them, carefully placed and each one intersected by at least two others. It wasn’t a conscious rule though – it kind of evolved that way. That’s part of the magic of using this kind of shape in a painting, it evolves as it grows.
I’ve shown it flipped in both orientations in the photos and this is to demonstrate its ability to hang comfortably whichever way you decide to hang it. I can get this kind of rotational balance because I work flat on the floor, so I can move all the way around it when I’m painting. And because the very nature of the semi-circle is to rise and then fall away again it’s of great importance to get the balance of where they start and finish absolutely spot on.
So in its construction it’s evenly balanced and structured. The most dominant colour is obviously black but this is very subtly tempered by the use of metallic gold and a curious twist on orange (in fact it’s a bit like a rust colour of I’m honest) but works remarkably well in toning down the harshness of the dark around it.
If we’re talking balance again then you’ll notice the orange/gold blend appears on opposing sides at either end. Funny that, it’s like I’d planned it! Add to that the merest hints of blue and light green and you get some real nice highlights appearing when you least expect it. The background is made up from a combination of cream, white and a light mushroom grey.
In many of the semi-circles you may notice that they aren’t that thick with paint; I did this to help some of the paint react with the light colours underneath as well as the shapes they intersect with. What this means is that for every big arc you get to see what lies beneath it as well as what crosses over or under it. It’s essentially a way to control the opacity of any given movement. And let’s be honest here – if it were a bunch of eleven solid shapes it’s going to get a bit tedious after about ten seconds right? I am always very aware about over-simplifying things.
To conclude then, I would say that La Dolce Vita is a very easy-going painting. It doesn’t require effort to look at but will reward you with style and detail and a relaxed colour palette that lets the shapes do all the work. It’s also a great size too so will pretty much hang anywhere. If you want to keep to your natural textures and finishes without shouting from the rooftops then this could be just the painting you’re looking for.
Take a look behind the scenes, with full commentary.
