Adrian Bradbury

MY PROCESS

 My moment where I found my direction I think comes from seeing an exhibition of BRIDGET RILEY'S prints, which struck me with their precision and harmonious colour. it prompted me to explore ideas in a similar fashion, less concerned with geometrics but more to do with the interaction of colour and surfaces. Working digitally allowed me to explore that precision and control, which to me was very important and still is. Whatever is there is because it is, I need my work to be about a sense of understanding of all the formal elements and hopefully have that integrity embedded in the work. 

When I  am working on producing my fine art prints, each piece is developed from original drawings and notes made on site, then scanned images of textures and drawings are brought together digitally, further drawing is done via a wacom tablet. The process allows for a high degree of fine tuning of the formal elements of the image and is not unlike the silkscreen process in that respect, however the digital process allows me to create a multi layered image which would be the equivalent of some 30 or more silk screens. These digital prints are created as limited editions of just 5 prints and are printed with archival inks on Fabriano Artistico paper or Hahnemuhle Art papers.

With painting, my work develops alongside what I do digitally to a certain extent, but is often somewhat more intuitive as the medium allows for some anticipation of where the piece might be heading, but can sometimes been turned around as the paint or line drawing suggests some new avenue for exploration. I find myself contemplating upon marks made or colour and surface and 'does it work' as a very therapeutic if sometimes quite stressful part of the process. I often feel that it can be very easy to be trite and superficial, almost being too precious about some aspect of the painting. As if I want to protect that - sometimes I find the need to obliterate and rebuild is far better and leads to a more cohesive outcome....... in my painting I want some of that history of the process to exist in some way, whereas the digital prints are a more pure outcome of the process.

solo exhibition in ORIEL Y PARC, St Davids, Pembrokeshire 13 DECEMBER 2022 - 18 FEBRUARY 2023