About Colin McCallum

Having always lived in London, the energy of a big city has soaked into my being. Whilst living in Barcelona, my work began to take another direction, it was not a conscious decision, it just happened. In recent years I moved away from using oils to acrylics and began experimenting with a variety of paints, mostly interference and fluorescents, along with pens and sprays and creating my own stencils, the results pushed me further into another direction. I had never considered myself a colourist, but as time has passed I have become increasingly more interested in colour and how pigments react with each other. Sometimes choosing to use pure colour from the tube, at other times mixing. These materials allow me to combine complicated layers with intricate pen details or stencil work.

Ultimately, my art is not decorative, despite having elements of repeat pattern and motifs, the imagery is intended to offer an alternative reality, not identifiable but always present, lurking under the surface. The city stimulates me in every way, its many layers and complexities which come into play in my imagery. The visual overload. I am interested in finding ways of translating this energy and chaos into a painting, which whilst being one flat surface, can also provide depth and dimension and optical excitement. My art is executed by hand, by brush, by pouring or dragging paint, mark making, yet can appear digitally enhanced or manipulated. Technology is an influence because in contemporary life we are increasingly surrounded by it and reliant up on it. However, by choosing to use traditional mediums, such as paint on canvas, I am also reacting against technology to produce something unique, hand made and coming from within me.