Illusory Space
Gerald Ashcroft
18th July - 5th August 2024
Open Mon - Fri 10am - 4pm
Weekends 10am - 1pm
Artist Statement
Many years of painting out in the landscape surrounded by rich colours, dynamic shadows and brilliant light has been a major influence in my art practice. Now continuing this journey into abstraction has allowed me to discover endless possibilities with mixed media. My studio has sufficient space to either hang and paint canvases on the wall or floor. Working on the floor has the advantage of being able to paint and view the canvas from all angles. My approach relies mainly on deciding on a colour palette and starting with some darks to open up areas of high contrast. I incorporate layers of full bodied and high flow acrylics, sand and glazes, applied with brushes, sponges, rags and palette knives. Then it’s a matter of allowing myself to just paint, being quite spontaneous at times with paint flying off the brush and hitting the canvas. The whole process provides me with incredible freedom to make deliberate and spontaneous marks and leads to an ongoing state of exploration and discovery until a resolve is met. The journey continues.
During the past three years I have been Artist In Residence in Studio 2 at The Old Courthouse Complex Busselton Cultural Precinct. The Studio facility with floor to ceiling glass windows provides me with a tranquil setting to explore and develop my ongoing art practice. This has resulted in experimenting with various mixed media and creating three complete bodies of work for Open Studios since 2021. Part of my art practice involves teaching Impressionist Landscapes in Oil with a palette knife. Workshops are interactive where students are encouraged to push their boundaries and share and discuss their works. A particular highlight of the residency is being able to discuss my art process with the many visitors who call in to the studio throughout the year. Some are quite surprised that I paint landscapes as well as abstracts and they often ask ‘Is this all your work?’ As they look around at the various abstracts they will often instantly see things in the paintings that I don’t see and it’s rewarding to engage with them and listen to their comments. Now I am delighted to be able to share some of my work with you in this current exhibition. Make of them what you will.
Gerald is a multimedia artist based in the South West with paintings represented in private collections in Australia and the UK. Trained as a video lighting cameraman producing programs for Industry and Commerce, Gerald now paints abstracts full time and teaches Impressionist landscape painting in oils with a palette knife.