Alison Simons

Painting with fluid acrylics is a science, which is why I'm drawn to it so much. During my career as a neurophysiologist, I have always needed a creative outlet and painting with fluid acrylics satisfies both my creativity and scientific mind. The consistency of the paint is critical, so I will often spend a few hours mixing and testing paints before approaching the canvas. Adding a variety of different ingredients to the paint can cause mesmerising interactions of the paint and when used in a controlled way, can bring a lot of texture and interest to a painting.

I create paintings full of vibrant colours and energy, celebrating nature, fantasy and escapism themes. I have developed techniques such as using air pressure to blow the paints, or dragging them with acetate sheet or palette knives and even skewers to create abstract and impressionist works. Sometimes I use the fluid part of the painting as a background for pieces where I can then use my brush skills to good effect over the top, and other times I will carefully control the paint to become the subject of the piece, such as with my well-known dragons.

With this type of painting, the paint drips over the side of the canvas and the colours drip into each other forming the most exquisite patterns. I allow these to dry into thin leathery sheets called 'skins'. Once these are fully cured, they can then be used to form stunning jewellery, or to decorate the bottoms of wine glasses. Each piece is bespoke due to the organic nature in which the skins are formed. As I use iridescent and metallic paints in my artwork, the sunlight captures these particles in the jewellery causing a beautiful shimmer.