Coexist
I’ve always been drawn to the idea that a city is never really one thing. It’s loud and quiet at the same time, familiar and overwhelming, warm in some places and cool in others. I think that’s what I was circling around when I painted this.
I painted a lot of this with a palette knife which means a lot of it was instinct. You can’t be too precious with a palette knife. The city that came out is blocky and imperfect and I think that’s what I actually wanted even if I couldn’t have said so at the start.
The water at the bottom is my favourite part. It holds the whole thing together without really trying to. It just receives whatever falls into it and makes something quieter out of it. I don’t know if this painting is about a place or a feeling. Probably both. Probably neither. I’ll let you decide.
Stunning work!