Spring Hip Hop 2
The title for the painting 'Spring Hip Hop 2' is a metaphor. It is closely aligned with the 'Earth Song'
series. It is not a visualised version of an actual song or piece of music or writing. It could be viewed as a
poetic abstraction of colours tones shapes light and rhythms of an imagined spring landscape. The grid
structure provides an architecture for the arrangement and may suggest an upward 'growth'
movement.
This work, and a number of similarly constructed paintings, are made from a combination of smaller
sections painted earlier. To be technical, you could say it is a kind of Polyptych employing a collage
technique - simply cutting and pasting already painted paper on to a support. Some passages were
reworked after this process to reach the final composition.
It's an improvised process which I try to keep open to change, happy accidental combinations, some
surprise and unforeseeable outcomes.
Earth Song 21 - Winter
The title for the painting 'Earth Song 21 - Winter' is a metaphor. It is one of a series of 'Earth Song'
paintings. It is not a visualised version of an actual song or piece of music or writing. It could be viewed
as a poetic abstraction of colours tones shapes light and shadow of a suburban environment in winter.
The grid structure provides a strong architecture for the arrangement.
This work, and a number of similarly constructed paintings, are made from a combination of smaller
sections painted earlier. To be technical, you could say it is a kind of Polyptych employing a collage
technique - simply cutting, arranging and pasting already painted paper on to a support.
It's an improvised process which I try to keep open to change, happy accidental combinations, some
surprise and unforeseeable outcomes. Nonetheless, they are still arranged with care to form simple
motifs in the same way a musician might choose a four-note riff or rhythm worthy of further
development in a more complex composition.
The egg tempera recipe I use includes some oil and varnish (known as 'tempera grassa' or 'fat' tempera).
It is an emulsion which dries quickly and in time hardens to a water resistant state. I generally mount the
paper on board achieving the rigid state recommended for conservation. It's framed behind
non-reflective glass for protection.
Earth Song 35 - Solstice Light
The title for the painting 'Earth Song 35 - Solstice Light' is a metaphor. It is one of a series of 'Earth Song'
paintings. It is not a visualised version of an actual song, piece of music, writing or place. It could be
viewed as a poetic abstraction of the colours, tones, light and shadow of mid-winter or the winter
solstice. The underlying grid structure may hint at suburban architecture although this is not a literal
depiction.
This studio based work evolved over a number of years in an improvised process which I try to keep
open to change, happy accidental combinations, some surprise and unforeseeable outcomes. The title is
applied after completion and may be helpful to a viewer.
The egg tempera recipe I use includes some oil and varnish (known as 'tempera grassa' or 'fat' tempera).
It is an emulsion which dries quickly and in time hardens to a water resistant state. I generally mount the
paper on board achieving the rigid state recommended for conservation. It's framed behind non
reflective glass for protection.
Joe Dunne
https://www.joedunne.net/
https://www.instagram.com/joedunneart/