The Morning Path by Andy Sumner

Artist Statement

After taking a break from painting for a couple of weeks – necessary to avoid burnout, I decided on this smaller work to take a free, experimental approach in order to loosen up my creativity.

Unlike most of my paintings which make heavy use of brushes, this one was mostly created with a large palette knife, exploring the effects created when spreading paint in different degrees of thickness, scraping it thin to reveal underlying layers and so forth. I’d used knives before but only sparingly and for particular effects, not for pretty much an entire painting.

The advantage, for me, with a knife is that it’s totally imprecise. It results in random patterns and shapes, which is actually perfect for clouds – that entire sky is knife work, and using it for the landscape resulted in an abstract feel which I really enjoyed. It’s a great feeling when the tool you’re using accidently creates something that you could never have thought of yourself.

The painting itself is reminiscent of my magical winter morning walks from Mawson to an office in Woden where I used to work, through the freezing mists and frosts of Canberra, the sun rising and colouring the mist in pinks and golds, the hills illuminated in a vivid orange.

About the Artist

Andy is a self-taught modern impressionist artist based in Canberra, Australia. Most of his works are landscapes inspired by the hills and wild places surrounding the city and the local region, though occasionally he paints scenes from memories or imagination.

He paints to intuitively express thoughts and emotions through his works, so his landscapes are notable for dramatic skies and intense use of colour. They often convey a conservationist theme, illustrating the damage done to nature yet seeking beauty and hope in what remains.

Andy also looks to explore light in all its nuances; his paintings are typically filled with brilliant ambient light and deep rich shadows. The scenes he creates are what he imagines them to be – landscapes as viewed through the prism of his soul.

His works are created with acrylic paints and inks, as his paintings are built up quickly through countless layers which necessitates a fast drying time, and acrylics allow the freedom to apply washes and tinted glazes over thicker impasto paint.

This exhibition, The Colours I Feel, is mostly inspired by Andy’s ventures into the wilds of Canberra during the autumn and winter of 2022 and 2023. He wanted to paint, not the scenes that the city is famous for, but rather the out of the way places where he found peace and inspiration.