Emma Hill

So here is the base layer, most of it - pre dots.

It's been done on two canvases so together they are 30" x 80". I have decided that although the paintings stand alone they will also be part of a series where each canvas will roll into the next. The pictures will then become part of a story that is called Itchycoo Park.

This story is different to most with a beginning, middle but no end, it has got caught in a loop of imaginary space that has found random pattern and form wandering into something that it is not. The painting comes first as the story is secondary, found somewhere within the picture. Therefore, the writing becomes the tool for illustrating a possible meaning or purpose to the story and not vice versa. There is no direction, plan or reason other than to paint and see what comes next.

Here is the start. The most important part starts with sketching ideas and finding a balance within my composition. These sketches are about the size of a postcard. I find it quite funny to see firstly, how awful or bad they actually are and secondly, to see the journey towards the final painting and to see the changes and progression from the original idea. I have never made a picture that is true to the original idea, no matter how hard I may try, it always becomes something else. I have learned to be open and just go with it. The mistakes become vital as awkward parts lead me to something new that often become features I like best. So, from these two sketches that have been mixed together, I have got my first painting. The second painting doesn't have a sketch as I have just continued with the flow into the next.