That Time I Tried Abstract Painting

Try as I might, abstract expressionism is not something I can easily get behind. It feels self indulgent. My nature is too prosaic and I like figurative paintings that tell a story I can see, not guess at. So I set myself the challenge to find inspiration to make an abstract painting I could love.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, I love the paintings by those old white men named after the Ninja Turtles* and I enjoy the really schmaltzy rococo stuff like The Swing by Fragonard. The first paintings I recall giving me a real visceral hit were Verrio's Heaven and Hell murals at Burghley House. Modern day equivalents include the monumental work of Shane Wolf. I respond strongly and positively to the drama, the movement and the general 'whoosh factor' of those dynamic paintings.

Recently, Katy Hessel's Great Women Artists podcast put me on to the exquisite work of Flora Yukhnovich (@flora_yukhnovich). Her beautiful paintings opened my eyes to how that whoosh-factor can translate into abstracted forms.

Simultaneously, I read about the Sibyls of the classical world. Also known as Oracles, the Sibyls dwelt in remote locations and issued prophecies, sometimes sung or coded, to various figures in Roman and Greek mythology and history. They feature prominently on the Sistene Chapel ceiling and are often said to be the bridge between pagan and Christian faiths.

The story of the Cumaean Sibyl touched me most. She made a deal with the God Apollo, to gain eternal life - but without specifying eternal youth. As centuries passed she aged, shrank, and was kept in a jar before eventually disappearing completely, her prophecies still ringing out.

I have great empathy for this powerful female feeling diminished, trapped and unheard, regretful of a long-gone but life-altering decision. I know the pain of speaking truth but being ignored. By contrast I also know how it feels to sing big notes- joyfully, heart-burstingly and LOUD.

So I thought I'd have a go at capturing those feelings on canvas. My painting is about the escaping voice of the Cumaean Sibyl echoing infinitely around the universe. I quite liked it in the end, but I don't feel inspired to make another yet.

*We both know I know they're not named after the Turtles, right?