Sep 19, 2025 13 min read artist Terrill Welch

Terrill Welch by herself - issue #34 Exploring A Figurative Abstract Continuum

We have new releases, new experimental paintings yet to be released, a painting that has sold and a six page interview feature in Global Art Magazine to share with you for September. In addition, I have a book to recommend. There might be more but this will get us started. I am in the middle of my major paper for my master’s in fine art programme and it is taking most of my focus these days. Just the same, I hope you find this issue interesting, inspiring and engaging.

NEW RELEASES

The four paintings that were shared in the August issue are now released and fully available for your consideration. The best way to see them is in the Seafloor and Seashell collection because this allows you to view them within this developing body of work. I highly recommend having a browse before continuing on to take in my latest three experimental paintings that lean much harder towards the abstract end of the figurative/abstract continuum.

NEW ABSTRACT AND FIGURATIVE/ ABSTRACT PAINTINGS

It is a fair question to ask why do I want to include abstract mark making in my paintings? The truth is that I have always had loose abstract marks in my paintings and this next exploration just brings them into focus and taking up substantially more real estate on the canvas. In fact, two of these are fully abstract placeholder paintings situated on the far side of the figurativ/abstract continuum. The answer is that the more painting language I have to work with and that I can develop into meaningful mark making, the more I am able to communicate within my work using a full sensory whole body and mind perspective. What we see in our physical world is the content of only one of our senses. To be able to successfully reproduce and interpret this one aspect somehow isn’t enough for full meaningful engagement. For me, it is like speaking with only figurative nouns. On the far end of the continuum abstract marks are like trying to communicate with only verbs. My art research is about expanding the mark making dialogue to include the equivalent in mark making of nouns, verbs, poetry and prose in a way that is intimate, personal and engaging. Can it be done? I am not sure but I am going to fine out over the next few months. Below are my resent experiments. I have provided substantial details about both my process and thinking. My hope is that in doing this I can take you along with me as I explore. Enjoy!

REMEMBERING TO FORGET ABSTRACT PLEIN AIR PAINTING

Reference Gathering:

I set my easel up at Reef Bay and I took these references at the beginning and part way through my painting process as a record while working from memory.

Part way through the painting process, I took a second set of images but again worked from memory.

Painting process:

For this painting I was testing my boundaries with my personally designed abstract plein air painting process in three steps. 1. Shape, Colour, Texture 2. (Choose two of one) 3. (Choose 1 of 1)

For this painting I chose

1. Shape, Colour Texture 2. Colour, Texture 3. Texture

The day was warm with rare green blue water.

These are my in process images for first stages focused on shape, colour and texture for ‘Remembering to Forget’.

These are my in process images for second and third stages focused on colour and texture and then just texture for ‘Remembering to Forget’.

Below is the finished paintings with my artist notes.

‘**Remembering to Forget**’ by Terrill Welch 12 x 10 inch oil on canvas board.

Artist notes: Midday in the slightly cooler shade of rustling poplar leaves, I stand steady at the easel with my eyes on considering shapes, colour and texture inspired by a few bits of seafloor. The task is to render an abstract plein air painting in oils over an orange acrylic ground on canvas using the information from my whole body and mind. I walk out into the bright warmth of pungent sea-scented sunlight and gather three references but choose to work from memory instead. There is a welcomed intermittent ever-so soft breeze. I paint close to the high tide line under the shade of the trees. The reefs are dry from baking for hours under a low tide and summer sun. I step back from the easel and go gather two more references. But again, I work from memory as I move to noticing just colour and texture on the surface of the painting. Finally, I focus only on texture. A wind comes up and the sea thrashes against the outside of the reef. My mark making scratches the surface and impasto paint seems to float like broken shells on a wishful incoming tide. I am remembering to forget.

Key Findings:

I feel that I communicate my respect and responsibilities for the land and environment in my figurative/abstract continuum paintings. Whereas, this aspect remains invisible to me in this abstract painting because of an absence of a sense of season, location and time of day. These elements are all hidden or overlooked in preference for expressive material focused mark making in this abstract painting. These are tangible and observable shortcomings regardless of the other redeeming qualities of the work. I will try again.

SEA BREEZE ABSTRACT PLEIN AIR PAINTING

Reference Gathering:

I took a few reference images before I began painting but never looked at them again until it came time to record this data. However, they might become useful should I decide to do a larger painting in the future using these and the small abstract painting both as references. The photographs are much darker than how the day felt during the time I was painting.

Painting process:

For this painting I was again testing my boundaries with my personally designed abstract plein air painting process in three steps. 1. Shape, Colour, Texture 2. (Choose two of one) 3. (Choose 1 of 1)

For this painting I chose

1. Shape, Colour Texture 2. Colour, Shape 3. Texture

At one point in the process I had turned the painting on its side to work on.

I also changed the signature the next morning because the one I did in the field felt too dark and intrusive to the overall painting.

Finished Painting:

‘**Sea Breeze**’ by Terrill Welch, 10 x 8 inch oil on canvas board.

Artist notes: I set up on the reef with an outgoing tide in the Sunday morning sun. Shape, colour and texture wash up against the edges of my conscious intent. Leaving aside form and light effects, I begin. I take no references once I have picked up my brushes and do not look at what I have already recorded for later. Seagulls squawk on the outer reef in reply to the conking calls of a raven. As I lift the brush to the deep yellow acrylic ground on the canvas board, a kingfisher clicks swiftly somewhere behind my left shoulder. I focus on the sounds of the waves and the clean scent of fresh sea draped over scattered seashells with small shore crabs scuttling for shelter. What are these elements without figurative mark making? I leave it to my relaxed whole body and mind sensory system to decide.

Key Findings:

My bias is that our earth and humanity are in too much danger from our human activity right now to only render shape, colour and texture on a surface. The survival of our civilizations actually depends on humans maintaining respect and responsibility in an accountable way within our limited earthly environment. The planet does not have any malice or intent to harm. It can only respond to the conditions that are present. The job of managing our activity within the limits to support an environment that will meet our needs and those of other living creatures is a critical responsibility. This painting will remain a reminder of my need for more within my mark making and from my painting practice.

Anything else:

I am going to set full abstraction aside for the moment and continue with expanding my reach along the continuum between figurative and abstract mark making. This painting and the ‘Remembering to Forget’ abstract painting should assist me in expanding that stretch even if I am not satisfied with the narrow range of my abstract expression. I am not yet giving up on fully abstract painting for rendering my intentions to make with nature but rather circling around. I am going to go back to my reading and see if I can further strengthen my theoretical underpinnings for this research project.

One of my art collectors, Alice Harris, who also follows my work on social media commented on a public post about this painting.

I share this with her permission – ‘All the elements are there, swirling in a different dance’.

I found this to be a most useful observation for foraging ahead in my exploration of figurative/abstract mark making.

SEA OF THOUGHTS PAINTING

Reference Gathering:

This painting is a compilation of experiences and reference gathering over several days of observation at Reef Bay. Though the images were reviewed before starting the painting and consulted during the development of the composition, the painting itself was mostly done from memory and imagination.

References used for inspiration in ‘Sea of Thoughts’ by Terrill Welch.

Painting Process:

The making process began with choosing the elements from the reference materials to include and then considering which were best suited for figurative and abstract mark making and everything in between. This is a larger canvas allowing for easy full arm painting movements.

Setting up for painting ‘Sea of Thoughts’ by Terrill Welch, 40 x 36 inch oil on canvas over a yellow acrylic ground. Sunday, 7 September 2025.

I started with a quick pencil outline to guide the constructed landscape elements for this landscape of the small and then moved through building up the paint towards a final stage of defined progression between impressionist figurative to abstract marks on the canvas.

Painting process for ‘Sea of Thoughts’ by Terrill Welch, 40 x 36 inch oil on canvas over a yellow acrylic ground.

Finished Painting:

‘Sea of Thoughts’ by Terrill Welch, 40 x 36 inch oil on canvas.

Artist Notes: Days of crunching over the sandstone reefs under September smoke-filled skies leave their mark. It has been hot and dry for weeks. Mussels break open their perfect shells during the long hours of midday low tides. My thoughts scatter with the gulls when a lone eagle flies over. The moments are rich with softness yet held together by broken bits of texture and shapes stuck to the stones and piled up in the bottom of the reefs. There is a calm core deep that supports a much desired inner peace. Yet, at the same time, the energy hums with anticipation. Soon it will rain. Maybe, she whispers. This full figurative/abstract expression intends to capture all of these complexities on the canvas.

I sense my own unrest and nervousness captured in the sharp marks in the foreground even as I am comforted by soft blues and neutral tones in the background. There is a personal honesty in this ability to feel both things with equal intensity at the same time. The variation in mark making seems to intensify this raw tension without losing its primary wholeness to my relationship with this landscape. There is an edginess as the first viewer with my recognition of finding comfort during acknowledged difficult times. It comes from being able to capture some of the troubles in paint so that there is room to see beyond it to places of hope and opportunity to act in responsible ways such as combining errands on the same trip as reference gathering.

As I sit with this painting I am reminded of Donna Haraway’s proposal to stay with the trouble, in this case the visible impact of a long drought on the land and seashore. I can feel helpless when witnessing and experiencing the impacts of climate change. Part of my accountability is to recognize that there are no easy solutions while being determined to still do what I can by the act of keeping my environmental footprint as small as possible and painting my experiences in ways that host these concerns in conversations with others. In this process I view my acts as those of a small self taking action with many other small selves because I imagine sustainable practical climate actions without heroism in ways that remind us that we are amongst earth’s many terrestrial critters and do not possess or deserve any special place as humans. Our human intelligence requires our responsible actions to care for the planet and all living creatures, even while eating some of them, but it doesn’t give us or guarantee us a privileged position. In this way of thinking we are better off to consider ourselves a servant to our universe because the very life of human civilization depends on our caring actions towards environmental sustainability. It is not a matter of what earth can offer us but what we can offer our planet through our stewardship. These are my underlying values and beliefs that rest in the marks making up this painting.

Key Findings:

The breadth of mark making undertaken in this one painting fulfills my one requirement of keeping me connected to my sense of place. It does more than this though and is successful in keeping my inner and outer dialogues visible to me within my conversation with nature.

Anything else:

I am looking forward to exploring this expanded mark making approach further to see how far it can take my work in this new direction.

GLOBAL ART MAGAZINE FEATURE

Imagine that feeling when your painting is on the cover of an international art magazine that includes a six page feature interview inside. I will put the link to the flip view of the magazine below for you… as I am guessing you will appreciate the option for a slow read that this format provides. Thank you again to Opulent Art Gallery for the great work in representing my work in this recent solo show on ARTSY. The interview is on pages 6-11 and you will want to read it on a tablet, laptop or computer to be able to easily read the text.

Opulent Art - Magazine Issue 020