james Ruddle
@jamesruddle
Artist Statement The juxtaposition of natural and industrial landscapes is a large theme throughout my work. While industrial landscapes, and in particular factory work sites, are often regarded in a negative way as unsightly and dirty locales, there is a beauty behind the grimy and sooty facades. In this series I was heavily influenced by my roots in Hamilton, Ontario, as I monumentalize such landscapes by recreating them with elements of fire, water and pigment. The rawness and hardness of the steel and concrete is somehow balanced well by the shores of Lake Ontario, the Hamilton escarpment and sky. These paintings are also interpretations of the dilemma of today's reality. Our society needs factories, such as steel mills and oil refineries to properly function, but they are a great source of contamination to our environment. This series is particularly relevant in today's political climate, with the increased focus on global warming and the need to implement new plans for a healthier planet. Artists Medium and Process Burn paintings are created through the process of burning images onto the canvas. Preparatory sketches are first drafted and are later drawn with pencil onto the raw canvas. Once the pencil drawing is on the canvas, a blow torch is used to carefully burn the contour lines and details of the image. Following the burning of these finer details, dark values are scorched with the blow torch onto the canvas. This process creates the under-burning, also known as the under-painting in traditional painting methods. With the under-burning complete, pigments are added to the canvas. The types of pigments used are crushed charcoal, India inks, crushed tempura and acrylic, all mixed with large amounts of water. Finally, after all the pigments have been added, a torch is again used to give the painting a burnt finish.
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2087
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amandla