Rich Dead Octopus

A classic colour palette of black, white, red and gold. All the colours one would associate with an extremely wealthy and thoroughly deceased octopod.

I was initially planning to only do this piece in black and white. As with basically every decision I ever make about a painting before I’ve started it - I changed my mind once I had begun!

I just can’t resist a bit of colour, even in a painting that’s meant to be black and white!

This work comprises a base layer of white paint mixed with small hints of colour upon which I made a number of what I would dub “zen art strokes”.

Zen art is something I heard about while watching a documentary about a New Zealand based artist. It (from what I learned from this documentary) is a practice whereby the artist focuses on their breath and try’s to enter a state where the conscious mind does not interfere with the stroke of the brush.

On top of these strokes, splatters of paint are energetically spread. There are paint splatters on every surface in my bedroom now, but I reckon it’s worth it for how this looks!