Abstract artist Paul Brown expresses a love of colour, line and layers through his varied practice. In each piece, he adjusts the space on the canvas, offering endless vibrant possibilities and interactions between shapes. The works delve into the subconscious 鈥 seeing an image through to its resolution.
A: What drew you to use abstraction after working as an illustrator for a number of years?
PB: I鈥檇 always painted outside of the illustration work, kept sketchbooks and made my own personal images but never had the confidence to consider focusing on it. About 15 years ago I had cancer treatment followed by a brain infection and that鈥檚 what really stopped me working on illustration commissions because the tight deadlines didn鈥檛 suit the new state of mind. I鈥檓 much happier working abstractly and to be honest it鈥檚 been great therapeutically in externalising issues and concerns during my recovery.
A: How has your graphic design background influenced your current work?
PB: Although my degree was in graphic design, I specialised in illustration fairly early on. I鈥檓 still aware of balancing elements visually both in terms of form and colour within the picture space. It鈥檚 not immediately evident but through the process of building an image there鈥檚 an awareness of how things sit together in a space, it鈥檚 something I try to shake off now and then but I guess it鈥檚 always there, guiding the choices I make.
A: You create digital paintings. How does your work develop the language of abstraction through new technologies?
PB: There鈥檚 so much freedom to play, make mistakes and take a few steps back or grab layers from one thing and apply them to another unrelated image so chance plays a large part. When using layers you can swap them around and alter their opacity 鈥 I suppose it allows for the unexpected and means that you鈥檙e not tied or committed to decisions you make visually. It鈥檚 another means to an end really.
A: What processes and equipment do you use to create these works?
PB: It鈥檚 an iPad Pro these days, with an Apple Pencil and and an app called Procreate庐. Starting with a blank canvas I choose brushes, medium and colours and just get mark making. I can transfer an image over to Photoshop on the Mac mini with my layers preserved and add scanned in, real-world, line, ink and textures as I please.
When I鈥檓 happy that an image is finished I鈥檒l check and adjust the colours to make sure they鈥檙e okay for printing and flatten the layers so that it can be uploaded to the printers, ready for printing.
A: How do you decide which colours, lines and shapes to layer – is it random, or is it a methodical approach?
PB: There鈥檚 certainly a random element to the mark making but I wouldn鈥檛 say that other decisions fall happily into categorisation as either random or methodical. There鈥檚 an intuitive or instinctive response that鈥檚 informed by years of practice and also by referencing my own life experience. The process is dependent upon my state of mind, mood and what I鈥檓 seeing already laid down in an image.
A: What is it about the use of shape and geometry that inspires you?
PB: Perhaps I find that there鈥檚 some comfort to be had in geometric shapes: they have a solidity and regularity that鈥檚 safe and dependable. They contrast with some of the more intuitive mark making in the work. There鈥檚 also the fact that a circular motion is a very natural movement to make physically so when making gestural movements there is a tendency to create circles and curves.
A: What is it about your specific use of colour that your collectors appreciate?
PB: I can鈥檛 really speak for the people who are drawn to my work; hopefully they see my love of colour and the way that colours can work together in inspiring a response from the viewer. It might be a feeling or a memory, but certain colour relationships can prompt responses relating directly to a person’s own life experience and with the work being abstract, there鈥檚 no specific meaning to be read 鈥 you bring your own.
A: Your works delve into the subconscious. Tell me about how you prepare yourself before starting a new piece, and what is your creative process?
PB: I can鈥檛 say that there鈥檚 anything I do to prepare myself. It鈥檚 always exciting and something of a treat to start with that blank space and not know what鈥檚 going to evolve within it. I just have an idea of the physical picture size, choose my brush and colours and dive in. There鈥檚 never a plan as such; there might be something I鈥檝e seen or read or heard that just triggers me and I鈥檓 off. It鈥檚 helpful sometimes to have some background music but at times silence is good too.
A: When working in your studio, do you think you achieve a sense of flow?
PB: Hard to say really; it does take some nudging at times to get back into the work but once I鈥檓 there I can lose myself for hours. Everything else just moves out of focus and I鈥檓 absorbed by the process in front of me. I work from home so there are always distractions to be mindfully silenced.
A: Issue 93 of Aesthetica displayed the piece Coping. To what extent is it tied to the Hope series?
PB: The work is a great way of confronting and working through emotional stresses. The past four or five years have been turbulent emotionally with my late partner’s diagnosis, treatment and death due to cancer and I think it was incredibly helpful to cough up and spit out a lot of the tensions and turmoil in a visually accessible way that I can now look back on and assess in hindsight.
Even today as well as coping with life with a brain injury and adjusting to the loss of a loved one, it鈥檚 clear for me to see within the work 鈥 through the multilayered nature of the images 鈥 the complex interaction of thought and emotion at work in my mind.
A: Your way of working offers endless vibrant possibilities. Is this daunting, or does it motivate you?
PB: It鈥檚 great! I鈥檓 like a kid in a sweet shop and, as I鈥檝e mentioned before, working digitally allows for so much more freedom in editing and fine-tuning work as it progresses.
I鈥檓 constantly trying out different brushes or painting media and just seeing what happens. If it鈥檚 something I like then fine but if not then I can take a step back in the process and have another go.
Lead image: Fallen.
The work of Paul Brown appears in the Artists鈥 Directory in Issue 93 of Aesthetica. Click to visit our online shop.
