Nicole Chaffey

Hmm, where to start???

The Journey series started out as a single painting, as most of my series do, exploring layers and use of colour.

Living and breathing art through the art school I go to, and constantly being inspired by the people who teach me, has pushed me so much further into experimentation than I would have ever gone in an isolated art practice, but it also prompted me to look backwards, and into myself.

I am abstract… Abstract is the very definition of me… the way I feel, interact, absorb, and exist. So I believe this was the only way I could possibly create this autobiographical journey.

The Journey Series is a working title. Each of the paintings included will eventually be given their own name and identity, for each of them has their own distinct purpose and place in my consciousness and memory.

I use a very direct process, almost pure oil paint with very little to no traditional medium, although I sometimes use gel medium if I need the paint to go a little further or dry a little faster. Working wet into wet, I let my brush travel through each block of colour, letting the colours blend and mix. It’s all about the subconcsious, letting myself create a painting rather intuitively. I think that’s evident in the immediacy and spontaneity of the surface.

As soon as I get close to my target of 20+ paintings, I’ll be pitching the galleries in the area for a show, and hopefully I’ll get one somewhere, because, already, I’m infinitely proud of the paintings, and have been getting very encouraging feedback from talented people I regard with the utmost respect. (Not to mention the fact that I’m an extremely poor, struggling art student who desperately needs to supplement her pitifully small income). :o)

As the series progresses, the symbolism is becoming much more pointed. Vague shapes that were included in the first few have become recognizable for most (I hope), if they care to look for them. And those with a similar personal journey to mine, I hope, will find a sense of the familiar.

They are autobiographical… The various states of existence, people surrounding me, events taken place, constants through my life… They’re all there, lingering, waiting for someone to discover them, in the same way that by painting them, I also, am discovering them.

In the meantime, I hope those here at red bubble can enjoy them as much as I do.