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I created the idea for this body of work from one small piece called "Small Nebula". Some friends were visiting my studio  from Holland and found this peice at the back of pile of unfinished canvases.  It didn't even have a name yet so we all named it together thinking that the work had a feeling of an exploding star and BOOM, I grasped the idea for a new exhibition, which I exhibited exclusively for the opening of my new gallery The Tay Modern. 

The exhibition turned out to be very exciting news for my collectors and my circle of supporters.  The greatly anticipated totally new Tay idea  was a huge success  enabling the "Nebula Series" to  tour from Hermanus at The Tay Modern to a rare opportunity to exhibit at Groot Contantia wine estate, then to a very hip space for the official opening of Wembley Square's (Cape Town) new annex and most recently to a show in Holland. 

To have a demand, sponsorhip and support for concept series work has been a most exciting development in my career so far.   

NEBULA SERIES
Tay Dall Release Notes
July 18, 2007
Part 1
Celestial Inspiration: One of the fun and playful aspects of being an artist is where the mind can take you. And in my case, my mind takes me almost anywhere and everywhere, even to those far away places that I’ve never been to before. After all, these are the places that I get my inspiration to paint from!  So what is this Nebula Series stuff all about? Well, if you didn’t know already, a Nebula is an interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen gas and plasma (a lot of things I know nothing about) usually formed after a star has exploded.  Ironically, it is also the material used in the first stage of a star’s cycle of existence. Does The Big Bang ring a bell? And therein lies my inspiring far away thought, to paint a series of paintings, primarily about the feeling of an exploding and dissipating mass of energy. Stars must destroy themselves to create new stars. Magical nature does it again, with yet another unsolvable mystery for me to ponder in my lonely studio. 

NEBULA SERIES
Tay Dall Release Notes
July 18, 2007
Part 2
Objectivism: Nebula is a series about constant change, or if the imagination is stretched a little, imagine that infinitesimal moment between the end of one cycle of change and the beginning of the next. This is the very point in time that this series became relevant to my mission. That tiny volatile moment between life and death or existence and non-existence where matter, time, space is neither here nor there, but is definitely somewhere. It is the  feeling of somewhere that I am painting. It’s a confusing point, but an interesting thought to play with on canvas, if you can get the feeling and emotion of the moment.  No focal point, no tangible structure, yet purposeful in its abstracted chaos of explosive colour. In some of the paintings, I introduced different kinds of symbols, which for me, form an interesting language projecting definite and solid stability that get caught within the maelstrom of exploding matter. I want to throw some sense into the mix by suggesting that possibly “there is something in nothing and what we don’t see may in reality really exist.”

NEBULA SERIES
Tay Dall Release Notes
July 18, 2007
Part 3
Technical Points: Creating an emotional human connection between viewer and artwork is the road that I have chosen to take as an artist. It’s a much more difficult approach than necessary, but I enjoy the process. Trying to paint an intangible thing like a feeling, a moment or an emotion is a huge challenge for me. Trying to paint a Nebula in human emotional terms is nearly impossible, but I tried. I used thick texture creating dimensional solidity and realness to the composition. I layered a mix of art materials over many painting sessions, each time adding a new technical value to the work creating a floating, drifting feeling. As the pieces evolved, I added other paint materials to see if I could re-create a feeling of explosiveness.  I used artist’s inks, acrylics, oils, house paint, solvents, glitter paint, glass paint, metallic paint, fabric paint, you name it and I experimented with it. During the last sessions I highlighted negative (light) areas and softened and toned positive (dark) areas to create luminosity and depth by bringing the whole painting together and giving it life.  

                            1971 Nebula 10 (SOLD)    1972 Nebula 11                 1973 Nebula 12