Golden Melody is a celebration of Kenneth’s application of the great blocks of shining colour and the sheer unbridled joy that this gives the artist. The trees, visible at the lakes edge in the distance, are portrayed with great balance, the trunks, foliage and sky compliment each other comfortably. Each element is given space to breathe in contrast to earlier works such as the dark and ominous barrier created by the depiction of the forest in Still Waters.
The focus of this heavenly painting is the late summer waterlilies, clustered richly on the deep blue lake, their yellowing leaves gleaming like gold, more precious than their flowers had ever been. Kenneth’s preoccupation with negative space is at the forefront in this painting. The blue swathes of negative space surrounding the lilypads allows the eye to dance around the surface of the painting, evoking the playing of a melody in the heavenly blue paths that twist and pool around the waterlilies.
Kenneth’s Lyrical Series recalls one of the most profound influences on his work since the 1980s; the Derrygimla Bog in Connemara. Located on the west coast of Ireland, surrounding Kenneth’s old studio, the reflection of constantly changing skies in pools of murky water has remained a continuous source of inspiration to the artist. The combination of forest with reflections, imbued with vivid colour and texture, reveals an evolution of style and sentiment.