Lucy Donald
www.lucydonald.com
@lucydonald
Statement:
The title of this work “Heaven and hell mixed as they spun” is a line from Dylan Thomas’s poem In the Beginning, a poem describing the dramatic chaos of creation.
In this series of paintings I explore the eternal battle between good and evil found in ancient myths, legends and religion. These themes continue to be explored in storytelling to this day and most notably, the comic strip tradition. I reference the long tradition of satirical cartoons, comic books and graphic novels in this series of paintings.
I deconstruct and abstract the graphic techniques developed for printmaking and mass re-production. This includes limited colour palette combined with the heightened drama of chiaroscuro and mid-tone mark making, cross hatching, stippling and direction lines. Abstracted strokes evoke hand written text and are combined with exaggerated pattern making with graphic line. Dynamic imagery is created through compositional drama and handling of materials within the limitations of the genre.
My intent in these abstract paintings is to create compositions that capture the clashes between superhero and antagonist. I hope to evoke the drama, the energy and the immediacy of the cartoon tradition through dynamic imagery. These paintings celebrate and re-present the abstract quality of visual language in the cartoons throughout history.
www.lucydonald.com
@lucydonald
Statement:
The title of this work “Heaven and hell mixed as they spun” is a line from Dylan Thomas’s poem In the Beginning, a poem describing the dramatic chaos of creation.
In this series of paintings I explore the eternal battle between good and evil found in ancient myths, legends and religion. These themes continue to be explored in storytelling to this day and most notably, the comic strip tradition. I reference the long tradition of satirical cartoons, comic books and graphic novels in this series of paintings.
I deconstruct and abstract the graphic techniques developed for printmaking and mass re-production. This includes limited colour palette combined with the heightened drama of chiaroscuro and mid-tone mark making, cross hatching, stippling and direction lines. Abstracted strokes evoke hand written text and are combined with exaggerated pattern making with graphic line. Dynamic imagery is created through compositional drama and handling of materials within the limitations of the genre.
My intent in these abstract paintings is to create compositions that capture the clashes between superhero and antagonist. I hope to evoke the drama, the energy and the immediacy of the cartoon tradition through dynamic imagery. These paintings celebrate and re-present the abstract quality of visual language in the cartoons throughout history.
Heaven and hell mixed as they spun 2
200 x 81cm
Mixed media on 2 x canvases
2022
200 x 81cm
Mixed media on 2 x canvases
2022