Clare Ormsby

I am an abstract artist. Although I refer to my work as paintings only the background is actually painted, the majority of work involved is drawing. My paintings comprise of two layers: firstly, I apply acrylic paints impulsively to the canvas then, using coloured glue, I draw intricate, complex patterns which counterbalance the spontaneous use of the paint.

I generally work in two ways: either I start with a concept or title and base the work on that – past themes have included: the dichotomy of beauty in nature; biblical prophecies; and cosmology; or I simply trust the technique which I have developed and only name the painting once it’s completely finished. In these instances the technique, as opposed to the concept, dictates the finished piece. Ultimately my paintings are about the expression of emotional, sometimes even spiritual, energy and thoughts which I cannot articulate any other way. The results are intended to be aesthetically beautiful but containing hearts of darkness.

My paintings generate an optical “atmosphere”, an organic and amorphous space that rests on a rational and orderly structure yet, at the same time, frees the viewer from the entrapments of fixed composition, allowing them space for their own interpretations. I constantly make, then break, rules about repeat patterns and colour schemes. I will create order out of chaos and then cause chaos from structure. I suppose my paintings don’t so much evolve as mutate.

My influences include Aboriginal and Naïve art, Art Nouveau, Japanese woodcuts and Far Eastern textiles. My work is often compared to artists such as Klimt Edmund Dulac and Chris Ofili.