Framed and on display is a representative sample of my recent paintings. These are expressive abstract paintings that prioritise focus and intensity over room-filling boldness. Expect to see convoluted forms, dark backgrounds, luminous colours, intricate details, and painterly effects both subtle and turbulent. They are supposed to hold the attention rather than grab it. Most are inspired by poetry and music from throughout history.

My paintings are relatively small in scale (ranging from A5 to A2 paper sizes). They are all acrylic or watercolour on paper or thin boards, designed to be mounted and framed under glass.

Unframed paintings and works-in-progress are also available to view in my painting room.

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DEGREES OF ABSTRACTION
I think of abstract painting as music for the eyes. Just like music, it doesn’t depict any objects or events directly. But both of these art forms are highly expressive, and are very effective at communicating thoughts and feelings too subtle for words alone to capture. Art for me is all about communication, even if I can’t say in words exactly what I am trying to communicate.

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ELEMENTS OF THE EARTH
Although my paintings are abstract, they are stamped with my love of wilderness. I grew up in rural Pembrokeshire and on the east coast of Australia, both ancient landscapes, and perhaps for that reason my aesthetic tastes are resolutely anti-urban. The gnarled oaks and mossy bluestone of westernmost Wales, the shaggy eucalypt forests and massive granite boulders of easternmost Australia, the Atlantic and Pacific coasts—above all, it is the superabundant messiness of wild natural forms, large and small, that inspires the forms I paint. Nature strikes a perfect balance between order and disorder, which I try to replicate in all my works—however far from being ‘landscape’ paintings they are. The mood of wilderness, cosmic-deep and dreadful, also makes its way into my darker images.

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ECHOES OF THE PAST
For me, the impetus to paint comes from immersion in the history of art in all its forms. A PhD in comparative literature exposed me to huge quantities of novels, poetry, painting, and music. Historically all the arts have intermingled in a way that amplifies their meaningfulness, all building on the same traditional themes and preoccupations. My painting is a way of responding and contributing to this nexus of meaning. Usually my paintings refer to specific poems of pieces of music, like abstract illustrations.

For more on how I think about abstract art and the interrelatedness of the arts, see my blog: www.jlks-art.com/blog