Step 6 - Painting step by step

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One pot of runny brown paint and an old brush and splash! Actually the trick is to not splash too much, you need to know when to stop.

Step 5 - Painting step by step

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The next step is to mask off the rest of the painting with old newspaper to cover it ready for the splash part of the painting (messy business).

Step 4 - Painting step by step

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I have now applied five coats (needed to get a flat colour) of light orange to provide the base for the splash part of the painting.

Step 3 - Painting step by step

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The edges of the canvas have been masked off to allow a white edge finish at the end and I've now masked off the first area to be painted. Masking saves me having to paint the curves unnecessarily. Masking also allows me to paint specific areas of the canvas wthout painting the whole canvas and then having to overpaint which creates a texture I do not want. I've chosen this area first as it will be the splash part of the pianting and therefore the most messy, its going to be easier to clear up the mess if I do it first rather than wait until later in the painting. I'm sure Pollock would agree, splash first, think later. Its amazing to think the CIA backed Pollock as a way of attacking Communism in the cold war!

Step 2 - Painting step by step

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The first thing I do is draw out the basic structure of the painting. At this stage I already know what this painting is going to look like when finished (getting it there is another matter). Partly this is because it is part of a series of paintings which are all developing one from another. This means that most of the basic language of the painting remains the same from one painting to the next. Its a bit like learning a new language, each painting re-enforces the words you already know and then I try to add one or two more to develop it and my understanding of it.

Step 1 - Painting step by step

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Well you've got to start somewhere and a blank canvas is where every painting starts.

Atoms in a universe of dark energy?

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Here is the latest painting. It continues the development of the language of formal abstract expressionism, controlled but expressive painting.