BEN STACKRecent paintings
I start with a colour idea or theme. Speed and simplicity are used when applying the paint.....It has a real substance and character.
I try to create a spontaneous, gestural honesty in every brush stroke.
It's like trying to trick the rational, logical part of the mind... so that something unexpected can evolve.
Mistakes are often the source of new ideas....and they create new pathways for fresh ideas to emerge.
There are elements of expressionism and illusionism in the works.
I don’t set out to create anything familiar or specific, I leave that to the viewer and their own interpretation.
I use multi-layered backgrounds, impasto and thin paint,
and additives such as marble dust and concrete, and occasionally, iridescence.
