The Third that Isn't Given (in the wound, a garden)
The Third that Isn't Given (in the wound, a garden)
Oil on Canvas (2025) 80 × 100cm
This oil painting restages mythic and alchemical archetypes through a contemporary lens, centring on the reclining androgynous figure. His body dissolves into the earth, merging flesh with landscape, while a masculine bull counterpart anchors an opposing force- instinct, weight, and material presence. The two flanking figures frame this exchange; a suspended moment between states, rather than a fixed narrative.
Drawing on medieval techniques and visual structures, the painting deliberately distorts them through controlled handling. Layered oil processes and restrained glazing allow shifts between solidity and dissolution, where the painting plane is both constructed and undone. The work tests how transformation can be sustained within a single image, and whether opposing forces can be held in balance without collapse.
My paintings are created using artist-grade, high pigment oil paints on carefully prepared cotton or linen canvas, chosen for their durability, surface quality, and ability to hold subtle layers of colour over time. Each canvas is triple-primed to create a stable, archival surface that allows for both precision and luminosity within the paint.
The works are built slowly through layered glazing techniques inspired by Renaissance painting methods. Thin translucent layers of oil colour are applied over time to create depth, atmosphere, and shifts in light that cannot be achieved through direct painting alone. This process allows light to travel through the paint surface and reflect back outward, giving the work its characteristic glow and sense of inner luminosity.
I use a combination of controlled modelling, sfumato, and transparent colour layering to create delicate tonal transitions, rich shadows, and heightened colour vibration while retaining clarity of form and detail. The final surface is carefully varnished once fully cured, enriching colour depth, unifying the finish, and providing long-term protection for the painting.
Every material choice is made with permanence, visual depth, and collector longevity in mind, allowing the paintings to function not only as images, but as crafted objects designed to endure across time.