James Gouldthorpe

I have always been drawn to narrative and even at its most abstract my work suggests a plot. I have found that referencing a story is an effective way to explore my own particular conceptual ideas, and a compelling way to engage an audience. Painting one image often does not fully express the ideas I am exploring but painting several images and thoughtfully juxtaposing them next each other they begin to create their own visual language. My approach to creating work has begun to resemble writing, I rigorously edit. As I pin paintings to the wall, I layer, remove, reconfigure and repaint until a compelling narrative begins to form. I frequently refer to my library of old books and magazines searching for relevant texts which I transcribe into the painted works. As I paint the work expands and shrinks finding unexpected directions, sometimes growing until it fills entire walls. This process can be very labor intensive and it can take time to complete a work, in some cases years, but as I continue to pursue this approach I am finding it a very surprising and rewarding experience.

As the narrative develops I frequently am drawn to issues concerning rural culture, such as our relationship to the landscape and guns. Like literature, characters and locations begin to emerge and as I work I am not always certain how the story will resolve itself, which if often true of the writing process. I utilize images found in my library and as I paint them and juxtapose them they begin to examine the darker elements below the nostalgic veneer of their original intention.