Never Forgotten

Never Forgotten

This one started life as a printed canvas I obtained from a charity shop that looked forgotten and neglected. In the spirit of the circular economy, I acquired it and laid down a mix of collage pieces: a mix of gel print fodder I had produced, water-based ink sprays, pages from old books, a picture of autumn leaves I had taken from a local wood, brand labels and an image transfer depicting a cathedral overlooking a lake.

At this stage, I had no idea what the composition would entail, other than that I wanted the colour scheme to be muted and have a vintage feel to it. I therefore chose colours like burnt sienna, white gesso for blending, russets and greys. I applied the paint with colour shapers, brushes and sponges, knocking the colours back with sprayed water and white gesso. I spread the paint round the edges over my collage pieces because I like to make the sides of the painting on these thick canvases part of the overall composition.

Next stage was to draw shapes and lines using chalk pastels and water-soluble wax crayons. This was all still very much stream of consciousness, but gradually the notion of looking back at the past, holding onto some memories and being reminded of others during serendipitous moments took hold. There was a lot of finger blending going on at this point, together with a lot of thinking about how much or little to add.

Finally I put in the focal point of the blue eye, as if to give the sense of looking back in time. Finally, I had the title, ‘Never forgotten’, which harks back to some research I read decades ago. It proposed that the brain never truly forgets anything once it is fully formed in our first couple of years. It simply acts as a colossal filing system containing some ‘go-to’ cabinets, and some that are deeply hidden in the dark recesses of our consciousness, waiting for a chance conversation with a relative or a certain smell that evokes a memorable occasion - it could be anything.

What feelings or memories does this collage evoke in you?