East Sussex Open at Towner Gallery, Eastbourne
4 July - 14 September

'Steam' - ready for the Towner Gallery.

I am very pleased to have a painting selected to enter the East Sussex Open this year. This is my first success with open competitions. Now all I have to do is get the work there and wait for the opening next week.

Steam, oil on canvas 100x100cm. Michelle COBBIN

The work 'Steam' is an exploration of energy and stillness in the cycle of a breath.  The invisible fullness and emptiness of breathing is represented by painting the background white so that the canvas is loaded with paint to give the impression of steam – making visual the empty space.

This abstract image of the breath resembles a steaming pan – the inhalation is contained in a pan shaped rib cage, the exhalation is expressed in an arc resembling a pan handle.

This work is from an ongoing series investigating movement and stillness, through examining the breath, and also links to another series that investigates vessels concerned with tea-drinking – teapots, cups and pans.