Bradley Hudson, Mixed Media Abstract Paintings
Artist Statement:
“Every poem can be considered in two ways – as what the poet has to say and as a thing which he makes. – C.S. Lewis
I have made art over the past 40 years. I began in painting, switched to sculpture during my graduate studies, and finally returned to painting and drawing roughly 20 years ago. I became interested in life and figure drawing. In addition to teaching in the museum studies program at Syracuse University, I taught a course devoted to painting materials and techniques. This experience inspired me to return to painting as I became aware of the incredible plasticity of the paint medium and the expressive range of both line and color. At about this same time I began to experiment with the symbolic and expressive nature of wave energy. The undulating movement of these lines across a two dimensional surface holds a special fascination and satisfaction for me. This can be seen in the paintings by the continuous modulating lines of different colors and mediums that usually move across the canvas in diagonal directions, these are contrasted by different colored individual dashed strokes moving in counter directions.
All these movements of multiple colored lines build up a pattern as they interact on a “stage set” of a shallow background of luminous colors.
Many different types of pigments, acrylic varnishes, and granulated materials, all of which are water based are employed. Often I will use a self-made walnut ink as one of the background or “stage set” colors. Other materials include: pure pigments, felt markers, charcoal, graphite, pastel chalks and bronze powder. All of the materials are applied in multiple layers and are locked in place under many coats of varnish and spray fixatives.
The paintings are done over a time period of usually a month or so. They are gestural and colorful expressions of my internal reactions to life events and the people around me. As such, I believe them to be an accurate rendering of the events of my life. But my primary inspiration remains my love of what I see happening before my eyes as I work the materials and react intuitively.
“Every poem can be considered in two ways – as what the poet has to say and as a thing which he makes. – C.S. Lewis
I have made art over the past 40 years. I began in painting, switched to sculpture during my graduate studies, and finally returned to painting and drawing roughly 20 years ago. I became interested in life and figure drawing. In addition to teaching in the museum studies program at Syracuse University, I taught a course devoted to painting materials and techniques. This experience inspired me to return to painting as I became aware of the incredible plasticity of the paint medium and the expressive range of both line and color. At about this same time I began to experiment with the symbolic and expressive nature of wave energy. The undulating movement of these lines across a two dimensional surface holds a special fascination and satisfaction for me. This can be seen in the paintings by the continuous modulating lines of different colors and mediums that usually move across the canvas in diagonal directions, these are contrasted by different colored individual dashed strokes moving in counter directions.
All these movements of multiple colored lines build up a pattern as they interact on a “stage set” of a shallow background of luminous colors.
Many different types of pigments, acrylic varnishes, and granulated materials, all of which are water based are employed. Often I will use a self-made walnut ink as one of the background or “stage set” colors. Other materials include: pure pigments, felt markers, charcoal, graphite, pastel chalks and bronze powder. All of the materials are applied in multiple layers and are locked in place under many coats of varnish and spray fixatives.
The paintings are done over a time period of usually a month or so. They are gestural and colorful expressions of my internal reactions to life events and the people around me. As such, I believe them to be an accurate rendering of the events of my life. But my primary inspiration remains my love of what I see happening before my eyes as I work the materials and react intuitively.