Land scape
Heidi Thompson
CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW
When I returned to Canada , I found culture was non-existent . I looked for new themes and decided to look within myself . This search led me to a ten-day meditation retreat . I learned Vipassana - an ancient meditation technique of observing sensations . This was Buddha ’ s pure technique he taught to his followers . It provides students a path toward liberation - liberation from suffering . The more I observed sensations , the more I experienced my physical molecular reality . The experience affected the way I painted . My themes became non-objective , monochromes of nothing . These works comprised of zillions of tiny flecks , spots , lines woven together into one unified field . When viewing the paintings , you feel a flow of subtle energy vibrations . My Breathing Blue series show examples of these colour energy fields .
I am not a conceptual artist . I prefer being a non-conceptual . I think artists get trapped in their intellects and imagination and miss something even deeper . I keep my paintings void of symbols , associations , concepts , ideas , pictures , allegories , figures and representation . This will help the viewer transcend his or her intellect and experience a different part of the mind . I want my work to mystify the viewer with an inexplicable feeling .
For this special edition of LandEscape we have selected Ochre Energy and October Passion , a couple of paintings from your recent production that our readers have already started to get to know in the introductory pages of this article . Your paintings communicate a successful attempt to transform tension to harmony and what has at once captured our attention it ' s their dynamic and autonomous aesthetics : are your works painted gesturally , instinctively ? Or do you methodically transpose geometric schemes from paper to canvas ?
Ochre Energy and October Passion are comprised of explosive colours and broken shapes . They resemble natural phenomenon like a volcanic eruption or a fiery forest . A permeating light floods through their abstract shapes which helps to unify the separate shapes . The paintings may appear tense because of the jagged forms suspended in space . The paintings may also feel harmonious because there is symmetry , balance and unifying light and space .
I do not make preliminary sketches . Rather , I prefer simply to imagine the final work . I visualize something glorious , uplifting , breathtaking , magnificent , massive , deep , vast or dramatic . I “ see ” golden light , peaceful greens , mysterious shadows , uplifting yellows or ethereal blues . I might imagine a field of deep blue space , a vast field of orange vibrations or green veils over blue . Although , I create a clear picture in my mind , the final results are usually not similar . However , if the finished work resembles my original image , I am ecstatic .
Nature inspires my process and is my best teacher . I look to her for ideas . How does she create patinas ? How does she erode her surfaces ? How do her colours change value and hue as the sun sets ? I imitate nature ’ s processes with wind , sun , light , water , gravity , erosion and texture . Here are the steps . First , I stretch my canvas then prime