These paintings come from a series that marks a significant evolution in my practice towards a deeper exploration into the subconscious. They are created with several painting proceses including decalcomania to generate imagery through chance. The imagery evokes landscapes or figures that oscillate between our world and some unknown world, inviting viewers to form their own subjective interpretations.
My process is a dialogue with chance. To elaborate: I first take time to let my mind alter, I walk or lie down in nature and wait. Often a psychological shift impels me to start painting, or an object found along the way or an encounter in nature spurs me on. I then work quickly and intuitively in a state of flow until I emerge back into consciousness, at that point I leave the studio and let the pictures to settle for a few days. In a subsequent session, I crop and overpaint to refine the image.
The resulting paintings, or decalographs, are a balance of raw, accidental energy and deliberate intervention. Ultimately, I am interested in how materials behave and how images can emerge through process rather than prescription, and how in turn this can engender creativity and a positive liberty in the audience.
Ben Llwyd 