Daniel Watkins


AVAILABLE WORKS

“In my practice, I have often embraced freedom, yet over time I found this openness to be both overstimulating and exhausting, TIRED CONTROL emerged from stepping back—painting from my own photographs and the landscapes around my current location—as a way to quiet thoughts and slow down the present. This process of focusing on a single subject offered a sense of calm and clarity, a way to regain control through stillness.

As the works progressed, I began to intentionally alter this sense of order. By introducing large blocks of single colours, shifting palettes, and applying mediums with less restraint, the paintings took on a presence beyond my control—something human, and imperfect.

The title TIRED CONTROL reflects this tension: no matter how carefully we hold onto control, it eventually exhausts itself, giving way to change, growth, and new life.

The recurring motif of houses grounds this idea. A home, whether owned or leased, begins with a clear purpose, yet as time passes and hands change, each occupant leaves their mark. Layer upon layer, the structure transforms—shaped by presence, memory, and chance—forever evolving beyond the intent of its first builder.

This body of work sits within that space: between discipline and stepping back, permanence and change, control and the inevitability of its future.