Paintings In Dots
Jim Pescott paints with a style reminiscent of Pointillism: he paints with dots and is often referred to as a Pointillist; but there are differences from the classic approach. Painting with dots is a style Jim happened into while painting and using some dots in the composition. Noticing these dots and basically aware of Pointillism he decided to try a whole canvas in dots and basically the rest is history.
What is Pointillism?
Pointillism dates to the 1880’s when French painter George Seurat, used tiny specs of primary colours to create an image. Seurat was especially interested in optical mixing of paint: he would place primary colours like blue next to yellow and the human eye would mix these colours optically to see green. This link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointillism provides a helpful overview on the origins of Pointillism.
Is Jim’s painting style Pointillism?
Not in the classic sense. Jim uses larger dots that mix and mingle to create shapes. Nor does he draw shapes on the canvas and fill the space with tiny specs of paint. Jim’s only brush stoke is a dot which allows his style to be reminiscent of Pointillism. Also Jim doesn’t do optical mixing: he mixes colours on a palette.“Green happens when blue and yellow decide to party” – Jim Pescott
How does Jim paint with dots?
Jim starts with a dot and ends with a dot: in between are multiple layers of dots (see the Technique page for images of the process) that often vary in size. He uses colour graduation to create shapes, light and shadow. A finished painting has from twelve to eighteen layers of dots in various areas of a painting.
Do the dots Jim paints have any meaning?
The answer relates to how Jim views things in this world.“Nothing on this earth is solitary, everything is connected.” – Jim Pescott
As Jim relates to this he sees a parallel between tiny particles called atoms and the dots his brush leaves on the canvas. Painting in this way allows an endless exploration of how everything on this earth mingles. For example: the surface of our skin really isn’t a surface microscopically, it is simply more dense than the air; atoms leave the skin freely to mingle with atoms from other sources so that from Jim’s perspective everything is dancing. In the same way the air becomes a tree and the tree becomes the air. Jim explores on canvas: his images share the dance.
