Unfinished acrylic paint on canvas

Unfinished acrylic paint on canvas

Unfortunately, this is a canvas I started over 10 years ago and never finished. I was inspired by Australian Indigenous art at the time. I had made a smaller version of this using pastels and wanted to capture my ideas on paint. The idea was to represent the natural elements of my local area in a somewhat high-saturated and stylised manner (creeks, earth, wind, heat from the sun). I love the way that some artists use the essence of line and shapes to convey their ideas, such as Matisse or Henry Moore, and at that time, the way that Aboriginal artists use symbolic shapes really resonated with me. However, in a way, I'm glad I left it unfinished as I was planning to copy the dot painting technique to express the shimmering water and sun rays. The problem with that is that it could be construed as cultural appropriation, which I was made aware of during my subsequent university studies. So, it's a shame I never found the time to finish my artwork for various reasons, but it's kind of a reminder for me to try and find time to produce artwork that express my true inner feelings and reflective of my own culture.