Daniel Ibbotson
Daniel Ibbotson - Mixed media abstract artist Statement:
The inspiration for my art comes from the emotional energies I experience in my daily existence. My work reflects my endless fascination for the contours and rhythms of the natural and man- made landscape around me.
Stimulus comes from everyday observations of objects and structures, such as the pattern created by a woodpile, the furrows in a ploughed field or the repeated symmetry within an architectural feature, seascape or landscape. My love of old maps, satellite imagery, facades, favelas and archaeological records all serve to inspire me and the movement of crowds, flocks, herds and shoals within delineated spaces can also be found in my art.
As a contemporary artist of more than 30 years, I draw on my experience from working as a specialist decorator which afforded me innumerable opportunities to collect waste materials such as scraps of wallpaper, dried paint, coloured sawdust and used sandpaper. I also use objects discovered within in my local environment, some found discarded and some naturally occurring weathered materials. These components are fused to create multi-layered, highly detailed works of sculptural abstract art.
Each begins with a visual representation of an experience, on to which may be applied dozens of layers of additional material. The backgrounds are mostly obscured and ambiguous, leaving the observer to imagine how they relate to the sculpted surface. Each lamina is treated to create a specific effect and finish, dependent on its position and significance within the artwork. The surface processes may involve different types of detailed painting and colour wash, relief carving, cutting, tearing, abrading and burning.
My material manipulation techniques have been developed experimentally through processes transposed from my decorating craftsmanship. The use of recovered materials, amalgamated with emotive recollections of my immersion in the landscape, provides me with unlimited opportunities to create textural layers in my art which in turn reflect my gathering and collecting of inspiring elements of my own life experiences.
I sometimes return to canvases to reflect new experiences, thus creating a stream of inherited memories within the piece. Each artwork reflects emotional discoveries in my own life and includes my commentary on the ever changing rhythm of the world around us all. The final outcome is intended as a serendipitous, resonant experience for the observer whereby the work reveals details captured within the strata and resolves its initial apparent ambiguity through an ongoing narrative over time.
About me:
Contemporary mixed media abstract artist, specialist decorator, ex-professional footballer, performance poet, band vocalist, actor, dancer and father to two adult children and one dog who believes he's human.
