Graeme Webb Art

In my ongoing exploration of chance aesthetics in creative practice I’ve been interested in how disruption and randomness can open up new directions, as it applies in this case to abstract painting. In my earlier article, Chance Aestheticsl in Art, (which I recommend reading before continuing with this one) I described chance as a way of interrupting intention,  a method of loosening control so that something unexpected could emerge. I’m not suggesting this process should be used continuously, just when there is a block in your work or you need to explore a new direction, form of composition, palette etc. The following is certainly not a definitive guide and I also need to work on it more to fully understand the implications for my work.

In 2017 Trevor Crone and myself published a handbound book and a limited edition lino print featuring London scenes using the ‘Impossible Project’ instant film and vintage Polaroid cameras. This article includes some images from this project ‘The London Sessions’ and a potted history of the Impossible Project and its evolution.

Quinacridone Magenta is a synthetic organic pigment widely used in artists  paints (acrylic, oil, watercolor, ink, and printing). It is known for its extremely vibrant, transparent magenta colour and excellent permanence.

As I complete Asemic writing projects in 2026 i'll add them to this page. See also A Rough Guide to Asemic writing.

A chemigram is an experimental piece of art where an image is made by painting with chemicals on light sensitive paper. The term Chemigram was coined in the 1950s by Belgian artist Pierre Cordier. Chemigrams are made without a camera or enlarger, instead artists work directly on light sensitive photographic paper, using substances like resists (varnish, wax, tape, syrup) and then applying developer and fixer in sequence or simultaneously.

Image by Patti Brady https://www.artistsnetwork.com/art-

Artwork For Clementine, video storyboards by Oliver Shaw and a collage by IamnotRanksy.

In my earlier article, Chance Aesthetics in Art, I explored how randomness, unpredictability and external forces can become helpful creative tools rather than obstacles. Chance techniques question traditional control and authorial intent, shifts attention from outcome to process, and opens the work to collaboration with chaos and happy accidents. I also provided links to historical and contemporary examples such as Surrealist automatism and Dada strategies, all of which demonstrate how chance can expand creative thinking and visual language. That article from May 2025 can be read here.

Some of my early CGI inkjet images from 1996. I created a grey scale bitmap scanned from a 19th century medical illustration of the head, Stomach and ribcage and imported it into the Bryce landscape rendering engine with tiled metallic textures scanned from real world oxidised copper. Rendering times around 18 hours on a G3 Macintosh.

Recently I came across this article from theater set designer, teacher and author David Neat on my 'Bleak House and Other Places' project from around 2014.

Several years ago I investigated the processes of Lumen prints and Chemigrams. This is the first of two guides this one features Lumen prints. (all the above prints were completed during 2020/2021 individual print size 10"x8").

This review is about the 2016 version of the book