All the Ancient Rocks I Ever Met (II)

This is the second of a pair of semi-abstract paintings inspired by my early career as a geologist. My favourite rocks were the oldest ones, more than 500 million years old, with fascinating names like 'breccia', 'agmatite', 'banded ironstone' and 'stromatolite'. Originally igneous and sedimentary rocks, they had been affected by processes involving extreme heat and pressure within the Earth to create metamorphic rocks with new minerals and structures. 

These paintings started out as a pair of abstracts with varying shapes and layers, and some of the delicate textures were created by using pieces of collage paper peeled off just as the paint was starting to dry to reveal strange surfaces beneath which were reminiscent of ancient rock fragments. More layers of paint were added, and when dry, I sanded off some parts to explore what lay beneath. I added glazes and also gold leaf with a silver finish which I partly rubbed off to create ragged metallic areas, similar to minerals such as iron pyrites or 'fool's gold'. I really enjoyed this creative process as it seemed that every ancient rock I had ever come across was popping by to say hello! The colours I chose included blue and green sea colours as I wanted to create an abstract reminiscent of rocks on the coast, and parts of the resulting painting resemble miniature rocky landscapes.  

Framed in a lime wood tray frame, framed size is 33 x 33 x 3 cm.