“Never Settle”

“Never Settle”

Dimensions: 120cm x 100cm

Medium: Mixed media on pre-stretched cotton canvas

Final Finish: Sealed with museum-grade archival varnish (recommended: Gamblin Gamvar Satin)

Materials & Process Overview:

“Never Settle” is a richly layered mixed media artwork created on a pre-stretched, triple-primed cotton box canvas. The surface was further reinforced by the artist with multiple coats of interior emulsion, building a dense, matte ground that fully conceals the canvas weave and evokes the texture of exposed urban surfaces.

Beneath the upper layers lies a subtle, metallic warmth, swirling strokes of burnished copper paint create movement and reflectivity within the composition.

To emulate the derelict wall where the original stencil design was first conceived, a rough surface was sculpted using heavy texture paste, giving the piece a tactile, weathered feel reminiscent of neglected architecture.

The central stencil was applied using high-pigment spray paint, uniting the energy of street art with the restraint of a gallery piece. A UV-resistant matte varnish was then applied to fix and protect the painted elements from light and environmental wear.

Around the text, a thick border was crafted using traditional Venetian-style plaster in a rich gold tone. As it cured, natural cracks emerged in the surface — these were highlighted with gilding wax to bring out their organic, timeworn character. The entire outer edge of the canvas was then gold-leafed, creating a hidden ring of opulence.

In a final conceptual shift, the artist layered a dark, gritty material over the gold — a hand-mixed blend of joint filler and black acrylic, applied to mimic the stark, unpolished look of unfinished concrete. This rough coating wraps around the edges and partially obscures the gold details. Over time, as the filler naturally degrades, fragments of gold will slowly be revealed beneath — transforming the piece into a living symbol of value breaking through decay.

“Never Settle” is a sculptural painting that embraces imperfection, time, and contradiction. It refuses the polished and static in favour of a layered, evolving narrative: one of erosion and revelation, hidden value and deliberate distress.

This is not a flat artwork — it is a time-reactive object, crafted through an intuitive process of building up, breaking down, and obscuring beauty beneath brutal surfaces. Every material was chosen with care, every change embraced as part of the final vision. The final varnish ensures archival protection, while the material beneath remains alive and in quiet motion.

For the collector, this work offers more than visual impact: it offers a story that continues, slowly and subtly unfolding across years.

Certificate of Authenticity to accompany the piece: