Tooth and Claw 2017

Joshua Flint made Tooth and Claw, with fluid brushstrokes, blending soft greens, blues, and muted oranges. It feels like a painting built up over time, with layers of colour and form emerging through trial and error. I can imagine him stepping back, squinting, then lunging forward to add a dab of paint, a quick line, trying to capture something elusive. There is thin paint in the background, but in the foreground, the birds have a sculptural presence. Look at the way the paint is dragged to create the illusion of feathers, and the single line of orange, linking these elements. I wonder if he was thinking about narrative painting and how we assign stories to images. Ultimately, painting is a conversation that spans generations. Artists respond to what came before, remixing and reinterpreting ideas, adding their own voice to the mix. Flint explores our relationship with the natural world, embracing ambiguity, allowing for multiple readings.