THE TRIUMPH OF ERROR
$700
On a hot Christmas day, I drunkenly attempted a panorama of the backyard on my phone. I wanted to capture the whole perfect moment but as I lurched and swayed, the camera was unable to keep up with my inebriated hand movements, and on Boxing Day morning I found a poorly stitched collage in my photo gallery.
I often paint from photos on my phone because I see something that grabs my attention for a moment that I need to note down. In attempting to replicate the image in paint, I make mistakes, no matter how hard I try to remain faithful to the reference material. Each painting is a journey that starts with excitement and quickly fills me with dread and then excitement again as I fumble around with the paint, scrubbing back and repainting a section over and over until I think it is correct enough to move on to the next section. Eventually, I seem to end up where I want to be, and look fondly on the result. The unintentional errors make the painting human, and interesting to me. The challenge of this painting was to replicate the imperfections created by a machine. This image is composed of layers of mistakes first made by a machine, then by me.
Acrylic on wood panel
92 x 25cm
Artist Statement: Jeff John Paul is a painter and drawer, working primarily with acrylics and pen. Born in a rented house by Cottesloe Beach in Perth, Jeff’s first artistic influence was his father, John Paul, a painter himself, and a relentless champion of Jeff’s artistic expression.
Jeff holds a Diploma of Fine Art from Perth TAFE and a degree in Visual Culture from Monash University. His artistic style was shaped early on by the illustrative styles of Raymond Pettibone, Alex Katz, and Charles Burns.
After completing his studies, Jeff shared his passion for art by teaching at a youth drop-in centre in Melbourne. This led to a similar role in Samoa in 2010, where he met his wife. In 2013, they moved to the Northern Territory, working in remote communities for six years. Today, Jeff resides in Darwin with his wife and son, where he continues to create; drawing inspiration from the natural environment and his family.
Contact Tactile Arts on 08 8981 6616 or admin@tactilearts.org.au to purchase.
