Friday, 30 April 2010
"Selene, because her face is moon-shaped" : SOLD!
Selected for inclusion in this year’s SWA annual exhibition, this painting in mixed media (ink, crayon, gouache...) on paper was developed from a drawing produced using the Handwriting function of the Sony Reader, which started as a study of the "anonymous", generic models of a fashion photograph. Many of my paintings feature portraits of women, or rather representations of the female face that fascinates artists and photographers and still dominates our culture’s iconography. The title, which names the "sitter", invites the viewer to believe in the illusion. And why “Selene”? Simply because here the “goddess” has a moon-shaped face.
The Society of Women's Artists Annual Exhibition, takes place at the Mall Galleries, The Mall, London
from 30th June to 10th July.
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
She wore gold earrings
She wore gold earrings
Painting developed from an original Sony Reader drawing
reworked in mixed media on light-weight card.
12.5cm x 16cm
April 2010
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
The Black Bra
Painting developed from an original Sony Reader drawing
reworked in mixed media on light-weight card.
14cm x 17cm
April 2010
Monday, 26 April 2010
Sunday, 25 April 2010
Behind the Mask, a Woman's Portrait
Painting developed from a Sony Reader drawing
(after a photo that Les took of me, one Sunday, in my blonde phase)
reworked in mixed media on card.
12cm x 16cm
April 2010
Saturday, 24 April 2010
Thursday, 22 April 2010
The Spanish Lady
The Spanish Lady
An original Sony Reader drawing
reworked in mixed media on card.
14cm x 16.5cm
April 2010
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
The Deceitful Smile
Image developed from a Sony Reader study of "Anna" as portrayed by Morena Bacccarin in the tv sci-fi series "V". I've reworked the drawing in mixed media on card.
12cm x 14.5cm
April 2010
12cm x 14.5cm
April 2010
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Head of a Woman
Image developed from an original Sony Reader drawing (below)
reworked in mixed media on card.
14cm x 16cm
April 2010
Monday, 19 April 2010
The Girl with Beautiful Hair
(Above top image) The Girl with Beautiful Hair (painting)
Image developed from an original Sony Reader drawing (above, bottom image)reworked in mixed media on card.
13cm x 16.5cm
April 2010
Sunday, 18 April 2010
The Blue Hat
Image developed from an original Sony Reader drawing
reworked in mixed media on card.
14.5cm x 16cm
April 2010
Saturday, 17 April 2010
Friday, 16 April 2010
The Magic of Black
Ginger on Black
Image developed from a Sony Reader drawing
reworked in mixed media on card.
14cm x 16cm
April 2010
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Two nudes in full colour
(Above) : Green Olympia
image developed from a Sony Reader drawing
reworked on card in mixed media
15cm x 16cm
April 2010
As its title suggests, this mixed media painting on paper (ink, gouache, watercolour crayon, wax crayon), developed from a Sony Reader drawing, references Manet’s Olympia, whose direct, impenetrable gaze continues to intrigue and fascinate. She is looking at us as much as we are looking at her. Her appropriation of the gaze causes equivalence between the subject and the object, the viewer and the viewed. And why “Green Olympia”: because of the colour, simply.
(Above) Detail from Olympia (1865) by Manet
(Above) Aurélie
As before, this image was developed from a Sony Reader drawing
reworked in mixed media on card.
14.5cm x 16.5cm
Wednesday, 14 April 2010
Monday, 12 April 2010
Sidonie, la mère de Claudine, as I (erroneously) imagined her" SOLD!
Painting developed in mixed media (ink, crayons, pastels) on card
from an original Sony Reader drawing
(Portrait of a woman with rosy cheeks - see below)
14cm x 17cm, April 2010
"Sidonie, la mère de Claudine" as I (erroneously) imagined her
Every picture tells a story
Whilst they are by no means obligatory, titles can provide a useful point of access to a painting or other art work. They allow the artist to offer meanings and even to tell a story. If there is a narrative behind the titles that I create for my paintings it is usually one that tells of the painting's creation: how the painting came into being, evolved and took on its final personality. Certainly, as I am painting my "portraits", (which sometimes reference a "real", living or historical, person but not always) I find myself entering into a dialogue with them, getting to know this person that is taking shape and form on the paper. This painting of Sidonie actually started as a study after looking at the highly stylised treatment of the female face in medieval stained glass windows. (When I was at art college I won an award that allowed me to travel around France to study stained glass. My study was quite preliminary but it is an interest that has stayed with me.) I'd also recently visited the church in Tudeley, Kent, to see the wonderful stained glass by Chagall. Most of the windows in Tudeley use a predominantly blue palette, but a couple of the windows are an irridescent yellow. Surprisingly, yellow is not an easy to colour to use in large areas even if it is one that cannot fail to evoke warmth and optomism. So, as this gentle woman's face took hold on my page I found myself thinking of "Sidonie" the mother of Claudine, the little girl in Colette's autobiographical stories La maison de Claudine in which Sidonie is a discreet but constant, loving and protective presence and force. Sidonie is evoked in these short stories from a child's perspective; this painting too has a certain child-like vision. So, the gentle woman on the paper became, in my mind, "Sidonie, la mère de Claudine." Unfortunately, after re-reading La Maison de Claudine, I realised that the real or original Sidonie was actually blond and rather short and round. So, I had to revise my title: "Sidonie, la mère de Claudine, as I (erroneously) imagined her."
Sunday, 11 April 2010
Friday, 9 April 2010
Portrait of a Woman with Rosy Cheeks
Another full day of work in the garden preparing the ground for the studio hasn't left me with much time for my art work. Here though is a Sony Reader drawing that I've just done to "unwind".
Thursday, 8 April 2010
Red Shirt & Lipstick
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
French Colours Mr Matisse
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
Goya's Black Look
I've not been able to do much art work these last couple of days as I've been helping Les do the preparatory groundwork for the studio that he's having constructed for me in the garden (very exciting). At least I've found time this evening to do a drawing on my Sony Reader.
Sunday, 4 April 2010
The woman with big brown hair ; like Lynda, I remember
Image developed from a Sony Reader drawing (see yesterday's post "The Hairdresser's Favourite");
reworked in mixed media (inks, crayons, pastels... all sorts) on acrylic paper.
April 2010
15cm x 16.5cm
Saturday, 3 April 2010
The Hairdresser's Favourite
A drawing produced using the Manuscript function of the Sony Reader.
April 2010
(Easter Saturday at the hairdressers.)
Friday, 2 April 2010
I Saw an Indian Queen
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