George Mckenna

I am a person interested by mathematical conundrums and I treat painting in this way. My love of painting lies as much in the process as it does in the final image; because of this painting gives me challenge and pleasure in equal measure. When I paint, I find the thought processes involved are unique to any other intellectual endeavours I’ve experienced; painting allows me to push myself in a very personal way, in a way which is difficult to express verbally.

The impressionist influence on my work is apparent. Technically I prefer to mix colour as little as possible with short thick strokes of paint applied impasto. I like to keep my brushstrokes loose preferring a raw finish to my canvas. I deal with content in a similar way, preferring to imply edge and structure through the use of light and colour rather than with hard structural lines. I do and always will paint this way, for me simplification of complexity is my ultimate goal. I would say Monet’s reflection work and Sisley’s skies have influenced me the most largely as a result of my interest in reflection, of light and of mathematical trends.

How light is expressed in my paintings is crucial to me, it is an area which is/will always be evolving. However, I have no pre-conceived formula which I employ and in some ways I avoid making rules in which I should be applying paint. The reason I do this is so that the journey of a painting remains as unique as possible and, underlying patterns of the image are not obscured. As a general rule there are some colours that I lean toward. Prussian blue and Naples yellow help me to imply structure in a painting, but how colour is mixed/or not is something I generally only decide when the painting process is flowing. I look to bring symmetry and balance to a canvas; I like to be physical with a canvas, in some respects I paint as a sculpture. I have a great deal of enthusiasm when I paint, as a result the viewer sees a painting which is vibrant, natural, honest and unique.

Website: georgemckenna.co.uk