Through the eyes of Daniel Eatock

Known for working across a wide range of mediums, Eatock approaches his practice with a conceptual mischievousness, always aiming to reveal hidden truths or moments of honesty. His work isn’t about settling into a single mode or message, but rather about persistent exploration, questioning, and playful discovery.

Tell us about yourself in a sentence.

On or off, engaged in manifesting work to contribute meaningful truths in a complex world.

Why do you use Galeria Acrylic paint and what draws you to this particular medium?

The medium is the message, the paint is the subject. Its economical, readily available and a new standard.

Is there anything surprising you’ve found with this material that other artists might want to know?

I prefer to unscrew the flip cap lids and squeeze the paint directly from the paint tube nozzle rather than the flip cap opening.

Describe your unique process.

It's a bit like my thumb print, swirly, complex. Most of the work I make happens in my head, then I figure out a way of transcribing the idea in the most direct and truthful way that materialises the idea into a form others can access.

I started to explore paint as a subject not as a medium. A tube of paint is beautiful, colour is suspended in a three-dimensional vessel awaiting its exit, so it can be manipulated into another form. Do different colours suggest different forms? What shape is black? What shape is white? How can the forms colour takes be read as truths?

So, as we live on a spherical planet and see through spherical eyes we seem to be creating lots of planes that suspend pictures… screens, windows, canvases, posters – if we are displaying colour on these flat planes then let's celebrate and reveal the flatness and break with the illusion of three dimensions. I think of this like viewing the surface of a pond… water finds its level. Yet when we look at it we can see beyond the surface, sometimes to the murky depths, we can also see the reflection of the sky above, infinity. Both suspended on the meniscus tension of the water's surface. This one plane has an infinite depth suspended in a flat skin.

My paintings are built with this idea in mind. Not to represent this, but to reveal flatness through depth.

How do you stay motivated?

I’m not afraid of being tired or not enjoying the process. I make work every day. Whether I feel like it or not, whether I’m tired or angry, I still make work. Some days it’s brilliant, everything flows, and I’m full of ideas. Other days, it’s a struggle, but I still show up. I’ve learned to be okay with discomfort. The moment of making can be hard, but once something is made, it becomes really special. The real work isn’t the eureka moment, it’s the follow-through. It’s putting the time in to realise ideas, refine them, and make them communicate clearly to others.

How does your background as a designer influence your work today?

My background is in graphic design, but I always felt like a bit of a charlatan when I was studying it - I didn’t really feel like a designer. I loved the logic of what we were taught, but I enjoyed applying it to other areas of life, like making lunch or shopping at the market. I found the things I was learning in design were useful for life in general. It helped me live well, make good decisions, organize information.

You have a unique relationship with colour for an artist who uses lots of it. Tell us more.

Wouldn't it be nice to see in black and white like people used to in the olden days? So many manmade artificial colours, all awful, fake, lies. The colour of things, sky, sea, sand etc are beautiful – the colour of your eyes, a flame, water, milk, leaves, flowers, a thunderstorm, a sun set, snow, the colour of a window. Yet when we pick a favourite colour, or assigned a colour – pink for girls, blue for boys etc. it all goes wrong. So, in my mind colour is the same for the eyes as sugar is to the mouth. If its naturally occurring is tends to be healthy, yet if it artificial it soon becomes unhealthy.

Any advice for artists starting out?

Keep going.

How do you choose the surfaces for your work?

There are two surfaces, the one below the paint and one above the paint.

The one below must be as flat as possible, with naturally occurring imperfections, grain and texture so the surface collaborates with the paint.

The one above must be transparent, polished glass that reflects light and the surrounding universe.

How did the idea for using a rolling pin as a tool for painting come about?

I use a paint roller to paint ceilings and walls, its more even and efficient than a brush. I use a rolling pin to flatten pastry or dough. I wanted to push paint into forms that act as symbols of fatness. Each shape I make using my rolling pin is an attempt to create an icon that represents flatness. I am trying to find the balance of elongated circular organic blob that feels effortlessly flat and not mathematical. A harmonious balance of flat form.

How important is the physical process in making your work?

More important than the outcome.

Tell us about your upcoming project with W&N. What are you most excited about? What are the challenges?

This Q&A is part of it, it’s a meditation on colour. All the colours I have ever seen, in every possible permutation, the process of colour and form being captured as a film – the inception of art, a flowing flux of pigment birthed into the universe.

Galeria Acrylic

If you’re a beginner looking to experiment, or a professional seeking new avenues Galeria Acrylic is easy to incorporate into your practice thanks to the combination of affordability, versatility and quality. You can also blend these vibrant hues with the Winsor & Newton Professional Acrylic range for higher pigment intensity.

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