New Directions is a collection of mixed media paintings by aspiring talent Damion Blundell. The universality of his concepts is reflected in the positive number of sales asserting that this self-taught artist is already highly credible.

The title of this exhibition evokes the idea of striving forward with clarity reverberating in the chosen subject matter. Three sections define the theme of the paintings - flowers, figures and birds - that are divided into three distinct areas of the gallery. Executed in a variety of manner, the key factor across the field is pictorial balance with the figurative aspects existing within broad spatial backgrounds. The eye is drawn to particular details encouraging the viewer to absorb the entirety of the composition.

Using layers of oil and other products the surfaces are built up vigorously, however the gentle top layer tonalities ooze subtlety. Occasionally Blundell plays with the tactility of the painted image by hand-stitching into it in certain cases. This is seen in Feeding the Birds where a field of green, dotted by threads of growth, is to the right of a man on a park bench gazing outwards at the whispery clouds. Looking Over Park features a bird eyeing his surroundings of lush vast green parkland, complete with little black knots of flies fluttering together in the distance. Magpie - Little Trip sees the artist incorporating gold leaf in a discriminate way. In these paintings we really wonder what a bird's life is like. What do they perceive and understand, what can they teach us?

The flower paintings differ from the others in their gestural application. Expressive and loose, the energetically flicked-on layers of colour depict the stems bursting with growth and the splatterings highlight the living process of these specimens. Pink Blossom features exposed areas of the unbleached canvas, creating a curious void in distinction to the effervescence of the flower.

Narrative links are detectable within the figure paintings where the characters, mostly depicted from behind, contemplate their surroundings. Mum's Birthday evokes the sweetness of that love between a mother and child, echoed curiously by the delicately coloured leaves of green, red and yellow that rest gently on a trees branch to the left of the mother. One can read many metaphors into the work that seems to derive greatly from the artist's own introspection and heart's journey.

Whilst the figure and flower paintings are impressive, the bird paintings excel and are where the veracity of Blundell’s poetry is demonstrated.  Ironically achieved by the pictorial compositions, not in the text written on the canvas. The words are illegible ponderings, privy only to the artist and transcribed through the viewer's imaginings. These invitations inspire the viewer to detect the subtext of the paintings' stories. Honey is a successful example of this combination of image and text. In this work a bird with vibrantly coloured feathers on the left of the painting is smeared by a puddle of amber lacquer. While fluttering momentarily in the wind against the sky-blue background, it stops to consider its next direction. The right hand section of the painting has a lyric, painted and left to drip. The tightness of this composition is very pleasing.

Much can be said of the metaphors and associations elicited by the subject of birds. Blundell toys with these references and plays with the theme so openly as to disperse our interpretations far and wide. Birds, symbolic of the spirit's desire to be free, are the animal species with the strongest sense of direction. For the artist personally, they are symbols of forgiveness and patience. In the painting Mum's Journey, a sweeping line links the opaquely pigmented spaces of vibrant colours to the narrative of the artist's journey. The honesty of these paintings is tangible.

Tying in themes across the work can be understood philosophically as the journeys of life and the essence of life itself. Perhaps it is essentially the artist's pourings of love - the source and meaning of life - that is the unique ingredient in his work. The quality resonating lyrically beyond the colour and the surfaces themselves as a pure aesthetic experience, one that is ultimately enjoyable and therefore fulfilling art's true purpose.