Collection: Andrew Cranley

Andrew Cranley was born in Belfast, 1984

Growing up on Carlingford Lough I was surrounded by boats. Sailing was a year-round activity and I always felt at home on the water. I was fascinated by the colour and form of the hulls, sails, rigging and buoys - and how the water distorted and manipulated reflections on its ever-changing surface. These forms lend themselves to my style of painting perfectly and my work embraces the busy, overlapping, complex forms - filling the entire composition.

The compositions begin as small, gestural sketches and I am never entirely sure how these will translate in terms of colour, texture and form. The paintings begin quickly and organically but can take months of wrestling with before they finally come together. I am interested in building a surface celebrates the joy of paint and painting, from thick impasto paint to areas of raw canvas. These works are as much about the paint as the depiction.