Every week ArtisticMoods invites an artist to tell us something about the ambitions behind their work. This week we give the word to Graham Brown, whose beautiful and diverse paintings are influenced by culture, devotion to the sacred and imagination.
“Painting, for me, is a process of creating intricate visual poems that become worlds in themselves. Imagination has always been the source of my work, and I am fascinated by the way imagination and dreaming transform objects in the world. I have always loved the tradition of sacred art from various cultures, particularly Indian miniatures and Russian icon painting. I find that devotion is a wellspring of creativity if it is not bogged down in any particular religious dogma exclusive of others. And a sense of the sacred can emerge in a simple still life painting, not only in an altar piece.
I enjoy exploring different styles, from the naive to the realistic, and different genres, from landscape to still life. Always seeking a jewel-like quality, I have tried various media. Gouache is a favourite because of the richness and purity of the colours. In my commissions for CD artwork, I have experimented with digital painting and collage, and this is something I would like to pursue further. At the moment I am learning some of the oil techniques of the old masters, such as glazing.
Painting is a meditative process, in which I become totally absorbed. I am largely a self-taught painter, though I did enrol in a art college for a year at one stage. A degree in architecture introduced me to the discipline of design and aesthetics, and allowed me to meet some inspiring and well known artists who were teaching the history and theory of art in the architecture faculty.
For several years I lived in Western Australia, where I had several successful exhibitions in well known Perth galleries. In recent years, rather than exhibiting, I have concentrated on executing commissions for paintings and book illustrations, but I look forward to doing more gallery shows in the future.
I was born in the UK in 1967, and I am now based in Sydney.”
Blog: gbrownpaintings.blogspot.com
Website: www.iriscroll.com
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