Dark Valley (Original)

This is the original Dark Valley, a small painting sketch that inspired me to explore both small and larger creations of nocturne-esque and heavily shadowed landscapes. This piece was created entirely using a rag and just three pigments: Titanium white, Genuine Naples Yellow and Ivory Black. In truth, this painting was more of a happy accident than anything strictly planned out.

What emerged first was the luminous cloud, and I simply began to work down and create a horizon, then a small set of trees, all the while randomly dabbing various amounts of titanium white, ivory black and Naples yellow onto the rag.

Continually, I am surprised at the impact suggestive - or indirect - mark-making has when creating objects or subjects, in this case a quite moody depiction of a landscape at night in the moonlight. Given the success of this small piece, I dedicated much of 2017-18 and last year to exploring large "dark valleys" and what they could mean, and attempt to distill what made this particular piece special.

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Tom Ansell is constantly concerned with the fabric between what is seen in the subject and what is not‚and the things that come from leaving information out or adding things in. Earlier work is concerned with philosophical ideas such as death and existence. His qualifications include a BA Hon. in Visual Art at Edith Cowan University and a BA: Visual Art Major from Edith Cowan University.
He also completed his Training and Assessment Certificate in 2018. Since 2021, Tom has been creating mural works full-time. The artworks you see here are the product of a period before this time, when his studio practice was the predominant focus.