Description
Beneath the Surface is an abstract, mixed-media work created using oil, cold wax, collage, and pigments.
The surface is developed through repeated applications of material that are worked back and re-applied, leaving traces of earlier stages intact and earlier marks to remain partially visible. This process creates a dense, tactile surface that carries a sense of accumulated time and material history.
The composition draws from the physical qualities of the earth, particularly the stratification and erosion found in rock formations. A restrained palette of ochre, burnt umber, sepia, golden ochre, and black reinforces the geological reference. Subtle metallic and golden passages within the surface respond to changing light, shifting in tone and hue as the viewing conditions alter, and revealing different colour relationships across the work.
This interplay between material, light, and surface encourages prolonged viewing, with the painting offering a subtly changing experience depending on perspective and environment.
