Paul Ramsay

 

Works on Board/Canvas

Paint Fragments on Board

My current painting involves the use of paint/salt 'fragments' to construct compositions inspired by my walks around St Thomas, where I live. These fragments are pre-prepared: some speculatively, some with specific ideas in mind (but with a high degree of latitude), and are placed on a surface using paint/salt mixes to build layers.
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'Seasonal Study I' painting by Paul Ramsay
paint fragments on board  25.5cm x 25.5cm
Seasonal Study 1 thumbnail
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The use of fragments came about by my noticing that what I considered as a by-product of my painting (one that was thrown away) could be used as part of its potential vocabulary.

I find it interesting to think of these fragments as characterful paintings in themselves, so that paintings are being built out of paintings, in a complex layering process (materially, referentially). Alternatively, you can think of these pieces as ingredients of a recipe, differentiated by colour, size, texture etc. (a 'jar of small reds', a 'mix of Autumn greens' and so on).


 
Within the fragments there is an echoing of natural forms: leaves, pieces of bark, soil, petals etc. but it's my intention to keep the work open to allow other possibilities. Much of my painting work begun in 2016 has been inspired by Autumn ('Seasonal Study I and II') but recently other seasons are coming into play ('June' (Spring), 'A Painting Where Insects Can Live' (Summer)).


 
 

Works on Canvas

I tend to use canvas in one of two separate ways: as a presentational medium for discreet painting elements (as a signifier of 'painting'), or as a medium for layering paint/salt solutions—often producing painting that references 'land' in some way (the ground, landscapes, aerial photographs, LandSat images etc.). These, like most of my work, are made horizontally, and can be displayed horizontally (on a plinth or shelf) or vertically, on a wall.
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'Seasonal Study I' painting by Paul Ramsay
modified paint elements on canvas
15cm x 10cm
Geopainting: 2 thumbnail
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The above pieces feature painting elements or 'roundals'. Geopainting: 2 consists of stacked, broken children's paints, 3 Blue Painting Events has three plastic containers, two orange and one blue, each filled with blue salt/paint solution, layered over time and allowed to dry; 4 Autumn Votives has a similar form, but this time with four roundals representing a compact seasonal spectrum.

'Seasonal Study I' painting by Paul Ramsay
strawberry, paint, salt mix on canvas
50cm x 40cm
rollover/click thumbnail to view a larger image
Another aspect of the use of canvas is...


 
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© Paul Ramsay | 2022