Looking retrospectively and with the comfort of hindsight, I wondered yet again where the sources and influences are that lead to certain imagery. Whether they be cataclysmic life events or miniscule tangibles, somehow the spirit is moved.
This week I heard that the American children’s author Eric Carle had passed on at 91. His 1969 work ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ (translated into 62 languages) encouraged young enthusiasts universally to read, count or learn about insect development happily as they stuck their fingers through the holes - trails of the caterpillar’s voracious appetite.
Besides the wonderful colour and bold designs, I love the idea that the inspiration for these holes was the circles left behind by a hole punch through stacks of paper scattered randomly on Carle's desk.
This reminds me of a work I made in 1982 called ‘Figures – Adam’. My children’s nursery school artworks not only gave me great joy but also became a source of design. Bright primaries defined by black lines from 3-year-old Adam’s painting were included in the right hand side of this work. My challenge was to integrate a child’s abstract insouciance with the figurative forms of women, high heels and voyeur's head on centre stage.
Currently I am re visiting a bright palette. Summer trumpeting.