This is an ongoing series of work which explores the idea of reflection and shadows. Inspired by time spent in the glasshouses at Tyntesfield National Trust and other photographs and observations from my own garden. These paintings create a link between the glass engravings as a physical object and my own drawing practice.
Folklore
Taking the notion of shared memory from storytelling as my starting point, I worked on using familiar figures and settings to hint at a narrative but not explicitly illustrated from fairytales and folklore.
Glass Houses
There is something captivating about glasshouses. For years I have taken photos of them from inside, outside and of the glass. I love the way the layers of shadows and reflections build up through the transparency of the glass panes. I have written more on this here
Shadows
Painting shadows is the other side of painting light. I love how shadows connect us physically to the time and space we occupy but also allow our imaginations to play. Read my blog on how shadows inspire me here.
Light
Light is such an interesting thing to paint and I realised this through my interest in shadows. The materiality of glass works with glass to communicate with the viewer and so painting this relationship with light helps me explore my understanding of glass.
Memory
Memory allows us to find a narrative for the past and places us firmly in the present as well as imagine a future. Painting plays around with this timeline, creating dreamlike images.
Wabi Sabi
I came across Wabi Sabi in my third year of university when I was grappling with ideas of impermanence and fragility in my work but not sure fully how to articulate them. A friend lent me the book Wabi Sabi for artists and everything just clicked. Here was an aesthetic idea that encapsulated what I was reaching for. Since then I have found many Japanese words, ideas and descriptions excitingly getting to the point of what I am interested in.