Origins

"Origins" is my biggest canvas to date (90cm x 90cm). It has inspired "Revelation" and "Let there be light", two smaller paintings that are exhibited at Portsmouth Cathedral until 11th August.

It all started when I discovered a huge printed canvas in a local charity shop. Art tutors had always encouraged me to work big - and having a base layer to respond to made working on a large scale less intimidating. I love that, just like many people and places, the finished painting has a hidden history.

I have always been interested in recycling and upcycling. Apart from shattered safety glass, I found a use for leftover eco undercoat paint, millet husks, silk threads left over from sari production and old mineral sunscreen and facial powder.

I used to want products that were everlasting, but I can still picture a place in the Namibian desert that was strewn with hundreds of glass bottles. Some had been lying on the desert floor untouched and unchanged for hundreds of years! There was no sense that the sun, wind and occasional rain would one day clear up our mess. So I am pleased that I discovered a method to safely incorporate glass in my work. (My husband now knows to offer any broken glass to me before disposing of it.)

What is this painting about? Remember that the canvas can be turned...

Here is what others have seen: Birth of a star, eruption, splash, flower, breakthrough, new beginning. I imagined the dynamic start of creation. What do you see?

While working on this environment-conscious painting, I was inspired by the first line of Psalm 24: “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” (Emphasis mine) I believe that we are all called to be good stewards of all the earth’s resources, whether natural or man-made. I love the idea of creating something thought-provoking and inspiring out of material that is often thrown away without a second thought.

The painting has now been professionally photographed, and I am looking at different printing options (paper, canvas, metal).

Please e-mail me at Susanne_Irving@outlook.com or comment below if you have a suggestion of the best method to achieve a reproduction that retains the drama and dynamism of the original.