Hiren Patel, Oil Street Urbanscape

About the Artist

I was born and grew up in India and now work and live in Sydney. For eight years, I have been painting professionally and exhibiting throughout Australia and overseas. I studied oil painting under the renowned artist, John Perkins. Primarily I paint urban landscapes which portray the mood, atmosphere and activity of the scene. I choose to paint with oils for their versatility. They can be exploited by using different viscosities and drying times. In fact, their possibilities are endless. My painting methods are based on the 19th century realists and impressionists. I employ the ‘Alla Prima’ technique. Good design, composition and dramatic light are very important to my work. My work starts from an idea of light and mood. I create a mental image and then the image develops into a composition. The painting starts as a very loose drawing with patches of colours in various areas; mainly paying attention to compositional elements such as line, shape, edges, tone, colour and texture. By this time, I forget everything and enjoy the process; allowing my creativity and instincts to take control. I never allow myself to think the painting is precious. The process is important, but if you worry too much about the end result, it will adversely affect your ability to paint freely. Keep moving forward and everything will take care of itself. I keep searching, finding, and destroying the forms, colours, edges and tones. I push myself to be as abstract as possible, but still achieve the perception of reality. Two inches of canvas viewed closely may reveal 100s of brush stokes that seem to form nothing, but when viewed as a piece, creates the image of a highly representational work. My objective is to paint without being obvious by applying brushwork, drips, dots, scratches, emulsions of paint to create my picture. The never ending search for inspiration keeps me experimenting and exploring with various aspects of painting. That is why it is said "Art is truly a lifetime process that never ends; it's way of life ". I hope to generate awarness of everyday life and beauty of the locations I choose to paint by creating a body of work that conjures memories and mood about those places