After the side swerve into the unsuccessful larger pieces, (too literal, perhaps?) I returned to abstract artists, in particular I wanted to explore who inspired Merlin James. At first I came across Serge Charchoune and his peer Antoni Tapies (Untitled) above left. I felt immediately excited and realised that my compositions have instinctively been moving toward this art movement. I wholly resisted abstract expressionism at the start of my art journey believing that 'they were just squiggles on a page' and 'anyone can do that' trope. They say that what you resist, persists and it feels like abstract expressionism has always been there but I did not feel confident enough to allow it to be there.
It is a peculiar thing because this way of painting now makes complete sense to me and I feel like I am belonging, something that once seemed so strange, now feels like home. I followed the breadcrumbs tentatively through the proverbial wood and I have opened the door to my imagination. Abstract - 'Existing in thought' it feels like the manifestation of my thought becoming form, or that I am only beginning a relationship with my true self.
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