On March 14th a series of small paintings will be “on tour” in Ryfylke, being shown in five different locations comprising Hjelmeland, Strand, Finnøy/Stavanger, Sauda and Suldal.

Due to transport restrictions, the works are 110 cm or smaller. I have enjoyed working on these over the last months. It’s nice not having to shift large canvases around the studio.

While some works are completed and in storage awaiting the event, the remaining lot is now in the final stages including ageing and cracking varnish and some aftereffects. I would like to show the two batches in order to explain how the works transform from a rather bright tone, to a more complex visual impact. Those familiar with my works, are aware of my affection for distressed and worn surfaces. Some might say I treat my works in a brutal way, but I’m not much for slick appearance. Take a look …

The unfinished works. Note the bright colours and the somewhat flat appearance of the clouds. There will be one more layer of mist/clouds on some of them. I apply this between the layers of varnish.

The batch of finished works. Surfaces are cracked and the colours are deeper. As the ageing effect varnish has some yellow hue, the clouds from the earlier stages appear more distant. I then apply the clean white clouds/mist and seal with the final varnish without hue The brighter whites between the layers of different types of varnish makes for better depth.