Origins

What inspired this painting??
Fossil shapes and patterns.
 
Think of ammonites and crinoids, trilobites and echinoids. They are distinct fossil shapes and patterns, whether whole, partially hidden or eroded. Finding a slab of rock encrusted with fossil shapes and patterns was an ideas I wanted to explore.
 
Imagine being the first to see it; the only person for millions of years.
 
Of course, fossils are familiar from childhood, but do we ever stop to consider their importance?
 
Many of today’s clues to the origins of life lie in fossilised remains. Not only which species lived where, but when and how they lived. Climate change can be traced back through the ages through fossils, giving insights into our own experiences. 
 
Rocks provided somewhere for the earliest life forms to anchor. Nooks and crevices provided shelter or safety for the vulnerable, or hiding places for predators. When the first land animals came ashore, it was rock that provided the stepping stones. 
 
Rock was not only the base on which life was able to begin, but in fossils it gives us the clues to how life began. 
 
The fossil motifs I've chosen for this piece are inspired by Ammonites, Brittle Stars, Crinoids, Corals, and plant forms. Some are designed to be obvious; some harder to spot.
 
The fossils were modelled with epoxy clay or cast from silicone moulds, then primed and painted. The rock texture has been made with modelling paste, crackle paste, marble dust, wood shavings and sand, and then painted with acrylics.
 
The result, a celebration of fossil shapes and patterns.