Contemporary Abstract Expressionism I Sky on Fire

This painting is made with acrylic paint, built up in many layers on canvas. The early layers are acrylic. It dries quickly, which makes it possible to lay down colour, add texture, and keep building without waiting. These first layers set out the main shapes and colours of the composition. Different tools leave different marks. Loose, expressive brushstrokes give the painting its energy and direction. The palette knife is used to press thick paint onto the surface, scrape it back, and drag it across earlier layers, leaving ridges, broken edges, and places where the colour underneath shows through. In some areas the paint is thinned and allowed to drip and run down the canvas, adding a sense of movement that can’t be fully planned. Thin, translucent washes sit alongside thick, opaque paint. Where the washes are, light passes through to the layers below and the colour glows. Where the paint is thick, it catches the light and casts tiny shadows, so the surface changes as you move around it and as the light in the room shifts during the day. Together, these layers give the painting its depth, movement, and rich texture, and a finish that feels contemporary and alive.