Artist's Statement
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When I first began painting the figure it was the male
form that excited me most. While composing a painting I
could do whatever I wanted with the man in question and
direct him in a manner not dissimilar to a theatrical
director. Gradually my interests changed to that of the
female figure. I wanted to look at something more akin
to my own image and explore the feminine. Thus began the
series of paintings “Mostly Women Birds and Bees”.
Many of my models are, or have become, my friends. As
such, I have incorporated not only their physical
attributes into my work but also their character and
their stage in life. A pregnant woman looks out into her
future or perhaps into her past contemplating her life
and the changes about to occur. The slight transparency
of her clothing suggests her sensual being and the
objects resting in front her reproductive self.
Suggestions of fertility and reproduction are seen
elsewhere in a curvaceous figure surrounded by fruit and
mice, the mice always busy and symbolizing the passage
of time. In “Feathers and Eggs” a strong muscular woman
is presented holding an egg with feathers floating
around her, the egg, symbol of life and the life cycle,
the feathers are from the bird that laid the eggs. Women
are also presented as characters from mythology;
Persephone holds onto her pomegranate and is the symbol
of spring. Psyche, usually presented as barely a
teenager is a mature woman, a contemporary woman with
life experience. In contrast “La Bellina” shows a young
woman holding a mythological creature. The unicorn,
often associated with Christ, symbolizes my model’s
youth and playfulness and was an object of her own
discovery and amusement.
A large part of my childhood was spent living in rural,
farming areas of England and Wales. To maintain that
part of myself I incorporate nature, birds, bees and
other wildlife, into my work symbolically. The symbols
are sometimes my own or are universal. The goldfinches
seen in “Passione” are symbolic of the passion of the
Christ but are also representative of my own life and
the goldfinch feeder outside my living room that
entertains my cat. The lilies in “Giglio” are the symbol
of the Italian city of Florence and of purity and
chastity; lilies are also flourishing in my garden. My
love of the natural world is also represented in the
still lifes and landscapes. The small paintings enable
me to focus mainly on the formal elements of painting
such as color, composition and atmospheric space. The
landscapes enable me to remain close to some of my most
favorite places. |