PAUL BATTAMS
CONTEMPORARY ABSTRACT PAINTINGS
"After prolonged bouts of
anguish, torment and pacing up and down the studio,
excitement starts to build.
I remember a colour from a banana I ate a few days ago,
Suddenly, I see a flash in my mind
... a canvas so rich, so voluptuous, a beautiful
Indian red making that perfect
banana colour, like a naked temptress veiled and
laying outstretched on a rock in
the sun. I know if I sit down it will be hours passing
before I find the courage and excitement
again to tackle the prepared canvas.
Quickly I fold the colours into one another on the
glass palette, not too much, 'let
something work, itself out on the
canvas' Like releasing
a snow white dove, the
loaded knife
hits the canvas surface spreading the thick buttery paint like clotted
cream across the virgin surface. I
deliver the paint to the canvas, watching and
waiting, seizing on something,
capitalizing on the moment as it
happens.
It is painting for the sake of the
paint itself. I live and die by some
strange emotions
as the knife passes back and forth
across the canvas, Brilliant marks trail one
another, In a rush to control, it
feels like I'm waking a tight rope.
I know I'm only a guide; a rescuer
the painting begins to breathe again. I have pulled it
back from the edge. I know the wrestling will continue until I
make myself redundant
and the umbilical cord is cut. I'm
exhausted………………."
Over the years Paul Battams has developed his own
range of paints and steel blades.
Successive changes in formulae, have allowed him to
create his unique style,
allowing him to fashion a different path towards the
unique and the individual.
