Abstracts

I find real free­dom and joy in in the cre­ation of abstracts, They offer me a chance to explore and exper­i­ment with­out the con­straints of mak­ing any­thing rec­on­cil­able or read­able. I find my inspi­ra­tion in plants and mus­cles, the ani­mal and the veg­etable, woven together and split­ting apart, all mal­leable and guid­ing my hand. 

Redemption, Acrylic on Masonite from the Seeds series

Seeds

New Begin­nings

The gen­e­sis of this series began in Port­land, Ore­gon in 2008. I’d done a paint­ing in acrylic based on an idea sug­gested by my paint­ing group, anthro­po­mor­phism. I had an exper­i­men­tal work in my base­ment which I embell­ished by push­ing and pulling the shapes, adding eyes and rows of teeth. The paint­ing was a great suc­cess. A man stopped me on the train and asked if I had a web site and if he could buy the work. I said it wasn’t indica­tive of my style or sub­ject and set the work aside.

I left Port­land in the late Spring of 2009 and stayed with my brother in Wilm­ing­ton, NC for the Sum­mer. I found myself with­out mod­els, a stu­dio and not being much of a plein air painter, any inspi­ra­tion in the land­scape. I did have his garage, lots of wood, some acrylics and the mem­ory of the afore men­tioned paint­ing. That’s where the Seeds series was born. They started with small pieces, tiny 6” x 6” images and mean­dered their way to larger works. I put the paint on the sur­face and let it take me places that I’d never been, with no lim­its on color and shape and no desire to be representational.

The Seeds are a metaphor for my jour­ney from designer and illus­tra­tor to painter, the ger­mi­na­tion of a new beginning.

Scion, Acrylic on HardboardKernel, Acrylic on HardboardMeristematic, Acrlic and Colored Pencil on WoodZygocyte, Acrylic on Wood, 24" x 24"Cyano, Acrylic and Colored Pencil on WoodOvule-Acrylic on Masonite 6" x 6' by Daniel Liam GillCaterwaul, acrylic and oil on wood, by Daniel Liam GillCumulo Lunas, Oil and Acrylic on Wood, by Daniel Liam GillPolyploidy, Acrylic, Oil and Colored pencil on WoodInflorescence, Acrylic and Colored Pencil on WoodMercurial, Acrylic on Wood 12" x 12" by Daniel Liam GillSporangium, Acrylic on Wood 24" x 24"

Sleep of Ondine, Acrylic, Oil and Colored Pencil on Hardboard, 24" x 48"

Objec­tify

Stud­ies of Human Form

My fig­ure work is based not on my sub­jects phys­i­cal form but on the emo­tion I feel and the energy I pick up in the mak­ing of the painting.

I take the idea a step fur­ther in this series.

I have worked with abstrac­tion on the Seeds Series, explor­ing cell ger­mi­na­tion and repro­duc­tion. In Objec­tify, I’m using the model’s phys­i­cal body as the method of apply­ing paint to the sur­face. Her energy and her real, tan­gi­ble form are embed­ded into the paint­ing, trans­fer­ring her from the sub­ject of the work to the instru­ment of it’s creation.

Paean Vessel No.2, 24" x 48", Acrylic and Colored Pencil on HardboardSister Thyme No.3, Acrylic, Oil and Colored Pencil on Hardboard, 24" x 48"Undines, Acrylic and Oil on Hardboard, 24" x 48"Kali's Raiment, Acrylic, Oil and Colored Pencil on Masonite, 24" x 48"Rosa Majalis, Acrylic, Oil and Colored Pencil on Wood, 24" x 36"Nyx. Acrylic, Oil and Colored Pencil on Hardboard, 24" x 49"Iridaceae, Acrylic, Oil and Colored Pencil on Hardboard 24" x 48"Carte da Trionfi, Acrylic and Oil on Hardboard, 24" x 49"Wealden, Acrylic, Oil and Colored Pencil on Hardboard. 24" x 24"Sister Thyme-No4 - Conflaeration, Acrylic, Oil and Colored Pencil on Hardboard, 24" x 25"Black Llotus, Oil and Acrylic on Hardboard, 24" x 49"Floofie Monster, Acrylic, Oil and Colored Pencil on Hardboard, 24" x 24"