Spot Colour Series

This series of paintings shows familiar Vancouver landmarks. Each painting represents a point of tension where there once was (and maybe still is) a struggle between two opposing forces. This tension is highlighted by "spot color." Spot color is a printing or photographic technique where a monochromatic image has one part highlighted with color. This technique is also used in Film Noir cinema. Each painting is done in my usual exaggerated style but the colors are reduced. You will see that the tones are mostly monochromatic or muted but for a single colour: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. The positive and negative associations of each colour reinforce the point of tension in the image. For example, red represents rage but it also represents love, while green signifies environmental awareness but also greed. The composition of each painting is "dialectic," which means it represents two opposing points of view. In philosophy, the dialectical method is a logical method of resolving dispute with an open dialogue of arguments and counter-arguments. Truth is usually somewhere in-between two extremes but can only be seen when both points of view are expressed.