Woman with matching dress Painting

www.erikarichmondart.com My finished work has a very textural layered feel to it. I am inspired by this method of creating working up layers, thin tinted washes, thick paint strokes, glue, glitter, found objects. I work fast, partly because I think that something takes you over when you do so, but also because there is more room for experimentation when my mind is only concentrating on that instant moment. While layers dry I start on the next, cutting up, painting paper, gathering and photocopying found images, so that I have a lot of resource to choose from. My work is very much a reflection of me in the images I use (I photocopy a lot of my clothes to use in work) and the person I am. The way I work could be likened to foraging for food. I rummage through my stockpile, hundreds and thousands of hearts and star cutouts, ripped up painted paper, letraset, sewing materials, dress patterns etc. I use pencils, glue and paint to assemble a composition on the canvas. I do this over and over again, leaving some areas and working more on others. There is a definite note of demolition to my style. I add layers, I rip them back, I scribble, I take risks then get frustrated and wash over everything, but you can see all this depth in my finished work because each layer is visible, no matter how opaque. I feel inspired and provoked by seeing all kinds of Art, but my main love is for Pop inspired work and Artists such as Rauchenberg, Blake, Schwitters and Johns have all influenced my style. Although inspired by the look of Pop Art, my messages differ. I am concerned with the viewer having something beautiful to look at. Work that you could look at forever and still see new things in. Something which, in its layering, is packed with suggestions of what might be underneath. In my sensitive use of mixed media and through the way I work, I hope I achieve this and show a fine understanding of a viewers needs.