Large Scale Abstract Expressionism

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For my abstract expressionism, I was keeping the scale at A2 to save on supplies so I could afford to work bigger later. Joyce Pensato's large emotive pieces have such an impact due to their scale, this is what i wanted for my work therefore I decided to increase the size of my paintings. While I also changed the scale, I changed the colour palette as well. Blue/green/purple tones have always been the colour palette I’m most comfortable with, so decided to return to it, for a change from the red palette I had been using for the small pieces. By working larger, and on the floor, I felt more like Pollock, and how he would create his works. Out of my small experiments, I feel the ones that worked best were the ones where I used my hands to create the marks, therefore I used my hands again for these large scale pieces. Because of this, I felt like I had more control over the work, as I was the tool, rather than a brush or palette knife. For my first attempt, I was influenced by the descending madness of Van Gogh in his work ‘Wheatfield with Crows’. I just love how the corn is still bright, almost shinning, despite the dark clouds falling upon his mind. The second painting, in keeping with the mythological theme, reminds me a lot of the Greek myth of the Charybdis. This was a sea monster, whose inhalations formed a deadly whirlpool or a huge water mouth, covered in spiked teeth. The third picture is what my hand looked like after creating the second painting. I think in a way, its artwork in itself. There’s just something about it I really like and I can’t quite put my finger on it. I was very upset to wash my hand after I had finished the work.