Craig Carty Studio

artists statement

above: big fluffy white ones-24x48" (on wood) 2005

The following are examples of some my paintings from the past 6 years.

Painting offers unlimited possibility to invent. In nature and in painting anything goes. Anything can be any shape or colour. My subject matter is always inspired by landscape. I believe that a painting can be something other than a portrayal of a person, place or a thing.
My paintings are a bridge between representation and abstraction, with shape and colour being distilled down to a basic form that can have many meanings. This has led me to explore landscape in a more abstract and general way, removing the descriptive function of certain elements so that they act simply as passages in the overall composition. I strive to be less descriptive yet maintain fidelity to my subject matter. In these works shape, structure, form and colour are the primary focus of my attention.
I believe that painting is not totally conscious nor completely unconscious, instead it is a balance between reaction and plan. When the reactions are responses rather than choreographed actions the innovatory nature of the idea remains closer to the initial impulse. Painting is a balance between an internal, emotional response and an external, intellectual process.
Each piece has its own unique feeling based on experience and imagination, and is a search for the means to express rather than depict.

(all paintings are acrylic on canvas unless otherwise specified; l x h)