I have been continuing to work with the coal pigment gathered from the Thames shore back in my studio, producing a series of Carboniferous collages. Thinking about the deep time through which this coal was made from remnants of ancient Carboniferous forests, I drop it into Thames water, letting the coal-paint pool, settle and diffuse on the paper. Dendritic patterns emerge as paint is pulled apart and I combine them to make new biomorphic forms.
Carboniferous 8, 2021, Pigment from Thames coal in gum arabic on Arches paper with collage of coal+acrylic medium monoprint on Japanese tissue, 37 x 29 cm,
My studio floor during the making of the Carboniferous collages