{"product_id":"bird-brain-original-oil-on-canvas-90cm-x-120cm","title":"Bird Brain - Original Oil on Canvas - 90cm x 120cm","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBIRD BRAIN\u003cbr\u003eOil on Stretched Canvas\u003cbr\u003e90cm x 120cm\u003cbr\u003eUnframed\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI’ve wanted to destroy this painting for nearly a year.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt began as a purely abstract work, built through months and months of conflict and attempted resolution. Layer upon layer of paint, marks, revisions and contradictions. The thing weighs a ton. Every attempt to resolve it seemed to create another problem, another direction, another reason to keep painting.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThen one day, watching the birds outside my forest studio, I began laying down marks that suggested something recognisable. Almost without warning, the painting shifted from abstraction into something far more discernible.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA bird emerged from the noise.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnd something in me told me to stop.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNot because the painting suddenly felt resolved. It didn’t. There are still marks I want to make, things I want to change, directions I could take it. But something has stopped me from painting over it, despite how many times I’ve wanted to.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI’ve been wondering whether a painting can be finished without feeling resolved. Or whether it can be resolved without ever feeling finished.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThere’s an idea often attributed to Willem de Kooning that he never really finished paintings; some simply escaped from the studio.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI think I finally understand that.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis painting won’t let me do any more to it, but it won’t let me make peace with it either.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt exists in this strange state of tension, somewhere between completion and uncertainty. I’ve never had quite this relationship with another painting.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePerhaps that’s what makes it interesting to me.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePerhaps \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBird Brain\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e just needs to escape the studio.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNot because I’ve finally figured it out.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBut because I haven’t.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Davey Neil Art","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47446345941081,"sku":null,"price":3240.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/9310\/3705\/files\/2F0B1816-95DA-4344-BF53-C5997E3BA9DC.jpg?v=1791861324","url":"https:\/\/daveyneil.com\/products\/bird-brain-original-oil-on-canvas-90cm-x-120cm","provider":"Davey Neil Art","version":"1.0","type":"link"}