Description
Idai
Oil on canvas
122 x 76 x 4 cm
Many years ago I was inspired by a drawing book by Jeffrey Camp to draw from the tv and the practice of capturing images quickly is one I still love to do. I’ve also taken many photos from the tv using them as inspiration for colour palettes or compositions etc.
For this painting I took photos from a news report on the aftermath of cyclone Idai in Africa and the photo struck me as compositionally similar to a painting I made of India, Garuda Lagoon, where the intention was to capture vibrant beauty.
I decided to capture the natural disaster of cyclone Idai using the same approach, resulting in this rich, subtly coloured version of the image I took. Using the photo as a starting point until the painting takes over, I like to work instinctively letting the work develop itself.
Working loosely at first, for the background and reflections, I used directional brushstrokes and blended wet paint, before working in finer detail and finally adding colour glazes.
Idai is painted on a deep edged canvas with neatly painted darkest green edges, ready to hang.
