Please see my Instagram page : http://www.instagram.com/michaela_laurie_contemporary/
I work in two very different styles. But each style comes from the same influences and concerns about our land and the environment. The layering of lines, colours and mediums with attention to details requires close inspection. The two styles require many hours to complete.
My Contemporary or Abstract works are a direct response to the landscape where I live. Every part of the landscape and world, both animate and inanimate, is linked. Every response or action, no matter how small, influences life around this action. There is a constant flux through each second of the day and night and with the seasons. We are connected.
This work contains gestural mark making together with very loose application of paint. I start each piece in a very abstract and free method. I try to attain a state of flowing consciousness concentrating on colours and the way they flow, mix and merge. Watercolour paint, water soluble crayons and pencils, ink and pigments react and move with the application water. Magic happens. This colourful substrate is then contained within very organic shapes. I call this my mining for gems phase. Each shape contains its own unique and beautiful painted world. Each shape is separate yet is related directly to its neighboring shape and even the distant shapes, by the lines and colours flowing through them and underneath. The colours are enhanced by further mark making using graphite and coloured pencil. Many works include Swarovski crystals which catch the light and twinkle.
Michaela Laurie 