Forget Me Not (2022)

My chosen artistic focus is the use of water-based paint combined with salt, and I have been building a series of interrogative strategies, particularly those involving the reworking or recontextualizing of vernacular painting materials, to produce colourful, celebratory works —as fragile as the environment. 

I began to use salt in my painting continuously from 1987 as it provides a means of disrupting my intentions (the outcome is never completely predictable) and allows me to work in a space between chance and control. I was a Fine Art lecturer for over 22 years until my chronic fatigue syndrome became acute — I try to embrace this aspect of my life within my practice and and I have come to realise that many of my pieces embody a kind of ephemeral, fragile beauty. 

I am currently making what I term my ‘Fragment Paintings’ which are works on board, built up from various layers of salted paint, and salted paint fragments, inspired by densities of leaf-fall and the various colours and textures of the seasons, often witnessed on the paths and lay-bys on walks in my local area of St Thomas, Exeter.

This piece, dedicated to my late father Rod Ramsay, was inspired by a cluster of forget-me-nots growing wild outside my house. I was fascinated by the colour change, from pink to blue, of these delicate, unassuming flowers.

All of my work on board is built from layers of water-based paint/salt solution with added pre-made fragments of paint/salt.

Mixed Media | Salt/Water-Based Paint on Board

40x40x6cm

Framed in a box frame