Intuition, movement and flow play a big part in the work of Chicago-based painter Bruce Riley who creates mesmerising resin paintings by dripping, mixing and layering paint on his shiny black canvases. Similar to the way in which marbled paper is made, Riley drips, blows, brushes and smears his paints onto a flat surface while they are still wet, which means that once a painting begins, the process cannot be stopped, otherwise the paint will dry and it will become impossible to mix more colours in. The end result is as organic and flowing as the making process itself, with multiple layers of paint encapsulated in clear resin, creating depth and an almost sculptural effect on the otherwise flat canvas. Much like improvising music, Riley begins a painting without having a particular form or composition in mind, instead ‘going along’ with what the moment brings and ‘playing’ with colour combinations and techniques, also incorporating any random mistakes and accidents. This whole process has been captured in an amazing short film directed by Jason Stanfield and Jordan Olshansky, in which the artist is seen at work at various stages of the process which shows from up close the way he layers and blends his colours.
Bruce from Jason Stanfield on Vimeo.
from yazter