Parrot’s View

I painted Parrot’s View with thoughts on animal welfare at the forefront of my mind. Nature is less regarded in the world, as we continue to build man made structures such as housing, factories and large-scale machinery. Animals are forced to adapt to their new urban habitats, and if they don’t, realistically they won’t survive. Conceptually, these ideas developed from practical and written research, and no first hand influences sparked my thought processes. I later went on to do a project on Alzheimer’s disease, specifically focusing on a care home in Hereford, and it’s residents. Here I found the first hand research far more stimulating, providing a greater insight for me into my own project and body of work. Therefore, the composition, painting techniques or even content of Parrot’s View may have had a different outcome had my first hand research been more thorough.

This painting is oil on canvas and accompanies a series of other work that emulates a similar message to that of Parrot’s View. I screen-printed a range of tools such as wrenches, and tap stop pipes to make the background- my first screen-printing experience. As part of the development of the background, light articulation of the tools with brushed oil paint may portray the message behind the painting with more emphasis (because the subject matter would be visually clearer). This painting was a turning point in my development as a painter as it made me question what is interesting for background materials. This may be a medium other than oil paint, or a technique that disputes the piece.