Alizon Gray
Melbourne / Naarm, Victoria Australia
Website
www.alizongray.com
Social Media
Instagram
How would you describe your work?
Abstract paintings that shift between landscapes and spaces for day dream and reflection.
What inspires you?
The act of painting itself is very inspiring to me. The back and forth of placing marks and stepping back to see how they fit within the work (good or not so good), and how the paintings evolve without a predetermined outcome to a resolved artwork always pulls me back to the studio–I am keen to see what happens next. I get very excited to work on large canvases. The freedom of space and to be enveloped by a larger work, a mass of colour, is my happy place. I love to see how other artists use colour and texture in their work. Sometimes when I feel stuck on a painting,I find it really helpful to look at how other artists might juxtapose colours or use a brush in a different way to me; it can help me to shift my perspective on how to approach a painting.
Can you speak about your process?
There are a couple of ways that I start and work through a painting. The first is to stretch up the canvas and lay down some colour washes over the whole canvas, usually in acrylic so that it dries quickly. The colour is chosen at random, though I tend towards either pink, or earthy colours. Doing this helps to get away from the formidable ‘blank canvas’ which can sometimes make it feel hard to know whereto start. From there I build up lots of marks–dots, squiggles, shapes, and veils of paint; keeping some and rubbing back or painting out others as I go.
Alternatively, I roll out some canvas and leave it un-stretched on the floor of the studio. Whilst I am working on other paintings I will use up left over paint on this canvas by rubbing the paint out of the brushes and sometimes pouring excess. I don’t tend to do a lot of conscious mark making with this approach, but interesting dynamics form in the layers of colour as they build. When it gets to the point where I can see a direction for the painting emerge I will stretch it up and work from there to again add marks in a more deliberate way.
Both approaches are organic but at the same time create a means for active discovery through painting, working towards a place where the painting comes to rest at a point of harmony.
How did you become interested in art?
My mum has always painted and encouraged creativity; growing up I always had access to paint and canvas. I have a newspaper clipping from when I was only two years old with a picture of my mum and me on the beach painting. When I was 16 I was confronted with some health issues and left secondary school to focus on my health. At the time my mother was teaching oil painting and would start each class with a meditation to free the mind from the expectation of what the paintings might turn out to be. I joined the classes and found that the experience of mediation and painting was a really positive way for me to work through the challenges I was experiencing. From that point on, painting has been a central part of my life and the practice of painting is very calming for me.
I am terrible at being able to sit and meditate now, but the connection to painting through reflection and quietude is still very strong.
Do you have any favorite artists, movies, books, or quotes?
Australian Artists whose artwork I adore: Karen Black, Lara Merrett, Tonee Messiah, Ken Done, Idris Murphy, Adam Lee, and Glenn Barkley – all have a beautiful approach to colour and form. International ArtistsI love: Joan Mitchell, Yoyo Balague, Mirco Baricchi, David Pearce – I love the organic nature of these artists work. Music on high rotation in the studio: Hannia Rani, Laurie Anderson, Shida Shahabi, Doechii, a lot of contemporary classical, and folk. Favourite (short) story ever–The PaperMenagerie by Ken Liu Excellent books of short stories: Rebecca Makkai–Music For Wartime Neil Gaiman – Norse MythologyMovies: I really loved Poor Things. The set and costume design is such an amazing feast for the eyes. Guilty watching pleasure: I am slightly obsessed with watching house tours on YouTube, particularly the homes of collectors, designers and other creatives’. I find seeing how other people arrange their homes as their sanctuaries with their collections of art, objects, unique furniture pieces, plants, antiques etc. to be very inspiring for how I want my living space to feel. How my home is decorated is anotherway that I express my creativity.
