I first encountered Howard Hodgkin's artwork when I was seventeen during my Art Foundation course at Wigan Technical College. I fell in love with his paintings instantly and his unique use of abstraction and colour. His art has been a constant presence in my life, making him one of my favourite artists. While in college, I purchased a reproduction of one of his pieces called 'Rain', which I framed and have displayed in various rooms of my home for the last forty years. Although it has faded a bit over time, it remains a much loved piece.
In a way, I wanted to express my gratitude to Howard, which inspired my series of paintings titled 'Homage to Howard'. I aimed to incorporate paint and mixed media, similar to my 'Life' series, but with colours that reflect Howard's work.
For 'Homage to Howard 1', I drew inspiration from one of my favourite pieces of his, 'Memories'. I layered the surface using mixed media materials that hold personal significance to me, allowing chance to guide the placement of each element. I then mixed paints to closely match the colours in 'Memories', again letting chance dictate where these colours would go on the work.
'Homage to Howard 2' follows a similar approach to the first, but I began to introduce additional colours. While I enjoyed creating the first piece, I felt the urge to incorporate some of my own colours into the mix.
'Homage to Howard 3' continues the trend of the first two, but with even more of my own colours added. The framing became significant in this piece as well, as Howard often framed his works within the frame and sometimes painted over the outer frame itself.
In 'Howard 4', I completely shifted to my own colour palette, leaving behind Howard's colours. This piece features a lot of mixed media, resulting in a rich texture, and I loved the painted frame from piece no.3, which I also emphasised in this work.
Howard 5 – This piece doesn't feature any of Howard's colours, but the painted frame remains significant. The major shift in this artwork is the use of mixed media; I incorporated coloured silk strips to create the background, moving away from my typical textured materials. As a result, the painting has a flatter appearance, allowing the paint marks to stand out more.