Melanie Field
My work is heavily influenced by nature and the mystical.
Underlying elements of the natural world - pattern, rhythm, sacred geometry, cyclical phases (birth, death, rebirth) and relationships are some of my principal areas of interest. I am drawn to the invisible - the hidden realms, what we don’t see, but what we sense. The feeling or sensory experiences in life - we all know how something ‘looks’ but how does it ‘FEEL?’.
The actual process or practice of painting is just as important as my finished work. I paint completely intuitively, never knowing or wanting to know the end result, therefore, a painting arrives at its own ‘completion’ in it’s own time. Some paintings can take months to complete as they ‘steep’ in the studio until I sense what the painting needs next.
Practically, I begin with a loose, free approach and from there I add more layers with spontaneous mark making that call to the texture of nature. I use a combination of heavy body and fluid acrylic building layers to respond to. Final phases of the process are based in blending and softening the painting through sheer and transparent components. I work in colour phases: inspired by nature e.g. the mineral, crystal, geological, forest, plant and marine life.
I use my painting as a practice in connecting to Source. My hope is that my work conveys an experience of presence and connection.