Stuart Bigley - Mandalas and Siblings
My process of painting is very much an additive search for the final painting. The paintings are not conceptual in nature, rather the process of painting reveals the painting. Marks, palette and the shape of the canvas dictate the direction of the evolution the painting will take. When the process is working well the outcome is an exciting surprise to the artist.
Siblings are two paintings of the same size that are painted during the same time period. They are given the same ground color and use the same palette of colors. One painting is worked upon and at a natural stopping point the other is work on. This back and forth process is continued until both paintings resolve themselves together. They are technically two separate paintings that evolve in tandem. They are not a diptych, which is two canvases making up one painting. The do tend to look their best when hung next to each other.
The Mandala paintings are usually square with imagery that is center loaded. They are sometimes begun with a formal mandala drawn onto the surface of the canvas. Then through the process of painting much of the formal mandala is lost. When successful the essence of the mandala is still felt in the finished painting.
Siblings are two paintings of the same size that are painted during the same time period. They are given the same ground color and use the same palette of colors. One painting is worked upon and at a natural stopping point the other is work on. This back and forth process is continued until both paintings resolve themselves together. They are technically two separate paintings that evolve in tandem. They are not a diptych, which is two canvases making up one painting. The do tend to look their best when hung next to each other.
The Mandala paintings are usually square with imagery that is center loaded. They are sometimes begun with a formal mandala drawn onto the surface of the canvas. Then through the process of painting much of the formal mandala is lost. When successful the essence of the mandala is still felt in the finished painting.
Recent Paintings - Mandelas and Siblings (click on top left corner of image to start slideshow)
