Rachael Grad

Dream Space

“DREAM SPACE (TRIPTYCH),” ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 7' X 4', 2021This large painting tryptic is based on loose, gestural sketches of an abstracted interior expanded into a reimagined scene. This project involved recreating my memories of a New York City room in which I spent many hours. Years ago, I painted and sketched this space from life on many occasions, and so have vivid, though dreamlike, recollections of its changing light and atmosphere. I started the initial painting with a 3’ x 4’ canvas, then added two 2’ x 4’ canvases to each side to construct a tryptic. My intention was to further grow the image in size and abstraction. This large artwork uses a multicoloured palette based on the numerous bright children’s toys that fill my home.I drew several different compositional sketches with pencil before adding the two side canvas panels to make the artwork a triptych. As I worked on these paintings, which are my largest combined composition to date, I felt compelled to paint quickly and in loose gestural marks with huge brushes in order to tackle this big project. These paintings transform memories of a room’s interior though the use of abstract marks of colour. I experimented with the remembered architectural forms, light, and feeling of that unique space. Over multiple studio sessions, I built up paint washes, bold brushstrokes, palette knife marks, and paint directly squeezed from the tube on the canvas. As I added layers and textures with paint, the image became more lively and abstracted. I worked to alter the colour saturation and vary the elements and depth of space in the paintings.

“The original abstracted interior triptych painting is signed on the back and was painted in 2021. ”