People left...

As I started developing space around my subjects, very soon space dominated, became more interesting and ousted people completely.

Funny how things happen sometimes. It’s like falling into a rabbit hole… Spaces and suggestions of other spaces or worlds dragged me in. Any suggestion; like a walkway or a corridor, a door, a window; or a picture frame.

The compositions that are framed by two horizontal planes from top and bottom are based on a theatre stage, that actually suggest at least two different worlds: one is the performance itself and the other - is life backstage.

I like the idea that life (in this space-time reality) is a theatre stage; there is a lot happening backstage. There is also an audience.

Looking back

Back in 2003-6 I was making work, focused on semi-abstract rooms/spaces with figures in them. I didn’t develop these series though, something distracted me. I got pregnant with my first child and switched to Dolls & Dresses series.

Now, after 20 years I found myself coming back to this theme, and old pieces serve as an inspiration and reference point.

Transition to colour

The desire to work with colour again was growing in me, especially after working on a couple of oil/canvas commissions I’ve done in Spring. I have started adding colour to my graphite drawings, but it didn’t work as I wished it would (the colour and greys were mostly arguing instead of supporting each other). At first I couldn’t really see how my ideas could be executed in colour, so I decided to start easy. I literally reproduced this piece (first made using graphite and oils) in colour using very limited pallet (I think it was madder lake deep, cadmium red and titanium white). That allowed me to just feel the paint again, try to manipulate it a bit this way and that and play with luminosity. I think it was a successful first step.

not the whole canvas

I have realised that there are so many subconscious rules that limit me. Why are they there, and when exactly have I formed them and allowed them to control my creative process, I don’t know. But as I discover them one by one, I try to break them.

There is one funny rule I’ve had that I became conscious about - that I must cover the whole surface of the canvas with pain, otherwise the work is unfinished - bizarre, I know, childish even.

This small piece I’ve made firmly keeping in mind the silliness of this “rule”. I continued my new exploration of colour in very limited spectrum, kept it as fresh as I could. It still feels like a drawing to me, I still draw with paint (OK, may be the first layer). I think my transition to painting will be very graduate. At the moment I can’t be sure if I will ever be able to call myself a painter, because drawing feels so natural to me.

new inspiration piece

The Limit, 1947, oil on paper mounted on canvas, 128.9 x 157.5 cm. Private collection.

I just love when life leads me to new people, places (physical and emotional), art pieces, new understandings…

This time I came across this piece “The Limit” by Arshile Gorki and it opened a whole new world to me: a life of another amazing artist, his journey, history, approach to colour, composition, way of working… And I know there are so many amazing art pieces to appreciate, but it’s easy to get lost, or your attention is sort of dissolved; but when something is really pointed at you, you allow this dialogue and connection and then it stays with you for the rest of your life.

That’s the beauty and magic of painting - I don’t even know what exactly speaks to me so profoundly in this piece, but it evokes something in me that no other art form can reach. That is why I love my disciplines; they are much more subtle than say music or film, but they have their own power in their subtlety.

Transitional piece

This is Jenny.

50 x 70 cm

I’ve made a few variants of this piece in the past years. This is the latest one. Here I use graphite for the face and hands, and the colour layers are oils.

It’s been standing here by the wall as I wasn’t sure whether I should keep it. My judgement keeps changing towards freshly finished pieces, some time needs to pass before I can tell how I feel about them.

I am confident now to show it, but it’s still a transitional piece :)

Easter Break

Over the Easter break, apart from hiding chocolate eggs in the garden, I was spending time re-evaluating my work and better understanding where it’s heading. It is useful to take breaks from the easel sometimes as it allows you to see your work from a fresh perspective. It also allowed me to prepare surfaces and experiment with short videos of my work.

I am often not satisfied with how photos I take represent my work, and to circumvent this issue I decided to record short videos to see if they would be able to show my point of view when I look at my work.

As you might have already guessed, it wasn’t as straightforward as I thought it would be. I stumbled upon a few issues: light, shakiness, reflections, motion blur and most importantly - sharpness. To be able to shoot a professional shot, you have to understand your equipment and its behaviour - a completely different area of expertise.

My efforts of trying to solve one issue after another led to a better understanding of how my equipment works, but I wouldn’t say I was satisfied with the result. I will not be giving up any time soon, and you can find some of my short videos on Instagram or Facebook; it would be great to know what you think.

Surfaces. Preparation of surfaces. Quality of surfaces - has become an increasingly important aspect of my work. I see how subtle changes in smoothness and absorbency effect layering of graphite, acrylic or oils. They therefore change the feeling or the atmosphere in an image. What I came to realise is that wonder is born in subtleties. You change just one little thing and something amazing is born. You don’t understand what it is. But it is magnificent.

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На русском:

Во время Пасхальных каникул, помимо раскладывания шоколадных яиц в саду (в Англии такая традиция: прятать шоколадные яйца в саду, чтобы дети их потом находили), я посвятила время переосмыслению своей практики, чтобы убедиться в четкости её направления. Вот так оторваться от мольберта бывает полезно, чтобы потом посмотреть на работу свежим взглядом.

Я часто не довольна тем, как мои работы получаются на фотографиях, так что решила попробовть делать короткие видео ролики в надежде, что это поможет мне показать их в более «живом» виде.

Как вы уже наверное догадались, это было не так просто, как я думала. Я наткнулась на несколько вещей: свет, дрожащая картинка, отражения от стекла, размытость при движении камеры, и самое главно – резкость. Чтобы делать съемки на достойном уровне, нужно знать свое оборудование и его поведение – это целая наука...

Стараясь разрешить одну проблему за другой я потихоньку разбиралась в том, как мое оборудование работает, но не могу сказать, что я полностью довольна результатом. Буду пробовать еще. Результаты моих эксперементов вы можете увидеть на Инстаграм и Фейсбуке. Рада буду услышать, что вы думаете.

Подготовка поверхностей для работы и их качество становится все более и более важным аспектом в моей работе. Я вижу, как даже самые небольшие изменения в шороховатости (или наоборот в гладкости : ) и способности впитывать жидкости, влияют на то, как ложатся слои графита или масла, или акрила. Они, в свою очередь, меняют атмосферу в работе. Я заметила, что чудеса рождаются в мелочах. Случается, что сделаешь одно маленькое изменение, и происходит что-то волшебное. Ты даже не понимаешь, что конкретно произошло, но результат по-хорошему удивляет.