Paul Butterworth Artist's Statement

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My paintings emerge from an intuitive yet disciplined process that balances structure and spontaneity. Each work begins with a hard-edged pencil design drawn directly onto the canvas, a framework I think of as a kind of machine—something that must be balanced and harmonious. I then add vertical and horizontal lines to create a second structure, still without colour, before setting myself a series of visual “rules” for the painting. Like a villanelle or sonnet in poetry, these rules determine where colour will fall.

 

Paint is applied slowly and deliberately: four coats on every line, at least three on each shape, to build depth and intensity. Although the system is precise, the hand of the artist remains visible, and texture is vital. For me, each painting is both personal—like painting the inside of my own head—and universal: one subconscious mind speaking directly to another.​