David Drain

David Drain's constantly evolving body of abstract work contrasts emphatic structural elements with overlapping screens of pale colour, as if sun-bleached or washed by the salt of the sea. His multi-layered, finely-textured paintings refer both to a refined minimalism and a dynamic tension between the intentional and the discovered, the raw and the refined.

His work is deliberately sculptural, employing marble-paste, charcoal, sand, acrylics, rusted iron and copper, resulting in a weathered patina of rich subtleties. The resulting paintings are surprisingly light, and ethereal, yet rooted in palette-knife strokes of dimension and texture.

The subtle interplay of natural light has always held a fascination for David. Growing up in the Southern Uplands region in Scotland, the ruins of abandoned factories and ancient stone buildings, with their fascinating storied surfaces, crumbling structures, subtle shades of old walls and aged wood, patina and rust have all proved sources of lasting inspiration for him.