Head in Contemplation

This piece, titled Head in Contemplation, was created during my Honours for my final body of work.

I was looking at how I could use unorthodox and sometimes crude implements to paint and express raw, immediate forms of mark-making on also uncommon surfaces.

This piece is a life study drawn/painted entirely with a toothbrush using oil-based bitumen.

Influences include Kokoschka and Giacometti, whose line-work and general dissection of the subject interest me greatly.

This piece also is a study of careful placement, and the celebration of intentional actions with the brush. What is placed down is left, and what is said cannot be unsaid.

This painting would likely suit a study room or perhaps a living room where it could complement the grit and detail of similar toned furniture and interior design.

Follow

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.