FLOTSAM

Flotsam is the debris found on and in the sea that often ends up on our beaches. It can be the result of shipwrecks or accidents and comprises the things not deliberately thrown overboard (jetsam) but also discarded or lost. Flotsam comprises all the plastics and litter that ends up in the sea and on our shorelines. I find washed-up flotsam intriguing, as each fragment and object has a story, posing the questions: Where did it originate? Who lost it? Where has it travelled?

This abstract painting is in response to the colours, textures and forms of the discarded objects, rocks and pebbles that are found on the hightide line of a beach. I find the sun-bleached colours and wave blasted forms beautifully sculptural, they appear to me like small pieces of modern art.

I have used a combination of acrylic paint, mixes of cerulean blue, burnt ochre, phthalo turquoise and magenta, as well as titanium white and mars black. The paint has been applied using different sized brushes and a silicon wedge. I have also applied deep intense patches of charcoal, as well as soft pastel lines and smudges to add a different texture and intensity. This painting is built up of layers which have been applied, removed and scratched into.