Here’s a painting I’m currently working on. Plaster and watercolour on panel; a kind of bastardised fresco. No great theme, no attempt to proselytise, no comment on society…
space, line, colour and composition… pictorial problem solving in the form of a self portrait.
30 x 25cm, acrylic on canvas
My small canvas studies base on the monochrome illustrations in Cesar Ripa’s iconologia continue. These are learning aids in a way, embedding postures, fabric folds and symbolic elements in my muscle memory to enhance my improvised drawings.
Allegory of Fidelity, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 25cm.
the main composition is borrowed from the moral emblem in Ripa’s Iconologia.
Allegory of The Beginning, acrylic on canvas 30 x 25cm
main pose of the figure and symbolic element of the letter and small man in the creators hand borrowed from the Iconologia.
Lying with the dogs, 2022
Last year I painted “Lying with the dogs” an allegorical image relating to the phrase “if you lie with dogs, you get up with fleas”.
my character is happy in the companionship of his canine friends, and cares not for the judgement of others, represented by the form of a spying cat in the border.
This painting is available with a number of small experimental studies on eBay here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/394560071714
Occasionally I make collagey mixed-media works for fun. A way to explore interesting compositions and distortions outside of real world restrictions of perspective and proportion.
They also frequently allow a free exploration of a sort of grotesque as a result of the jarring combination of different scaled elements.
I have added some of these collages to my eBay shop: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/394355872772
For years I have periodically painted still life paintings of skulls. Sometimes these have taken a vanitas approach incorporating incorporating other symbolic elements (flowers/coins/ objects) to suggest a narrative or deeper meaning to the viewer.
More frequently they are something of a portrait of the skull where it is the sole or primary aspect of the composition .
In addition to attempting to develop a striking image, these paintings function as a form of painting practice, where I try to develop aspects of my skill and techniques.
Below are some recent examples:
As mentioned in previous posts, around 2017 I produced a number of illustrative paintings inspired by Patrick Suskind’s novel “Perfume”.
Prior to painting I produced a series of works on paper in biro or pencil, to develop the compositions in an improvisatory manner.
An ongoing work in oil and collage on panel
The last (for now?…) studies influenced by songs from the Manic Street Preachers album “Everything Must Go” have been added to the gallery page: https://mattwells.art.blog/narrative-painting/portfolio/
Below are a few of them.
Matt Wells Art 