In 2006 I began a journey researching and documenting an idea for a series of paintings whilst studying an M.A in Photographic Studies, this idea linked in with my studies and encouraged my photographic ideas to blossom. This idea has always been close to my heart and something that I am passionate about, the notion of the female form and drapery creating ethereal beauty, bouncing back and forth many ideas to try to convey passion and aesthetically pleasing pieces but there was also something I could not quite explain, something I could not connect with fully and express clearly. I continued researching about notions of reality and fake, blurring the boundaries between the conscious and subconscious psyche, reading Neil Leach's 'Camouflage' and Sigmund Freud's 'The Uncanny' encouraged me to build the foundations of this idea, experimenting with images to confuse and challenge the viewer. It wasn't until I begin my solo journey in life again that I realised I wanted to convey the notion of passion in freedom of the female form. Frederic Leighton's 'Flaming June' set this notion into full flow after a visit to Leighton's House in 2017. Completely immersed in the beauty of his life works, I began to cultivate my ideas and started to create the basis of my preliminary sketches.
Folds in drapery, the cascades of water-like tones express my journey through life. I am passionate and obsessed with folds, reading 'Drawing the Draped Figure' has enabled me to learn new ways of conveying meaning through objects, creating a narrative and an aesthetically pleasing piece of artwork. Oprah Winfrey once stated, "Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you" and this has stuck in my mind, so I want to apply this to my artwork.
It all began when I curated an exhibition at Stew Gallery with a group of 10 emerging artists, "Dividing Lines", it was the beginning of my artistic challenge but this journey was quite quickly put on hold until recently where I have spent time daydreaming about how I wanted to exhibit my first solo exhibition and decided that this will take time and a lot of attention to detail. It will be a progression and growth of my artistic integrity, learning new methods and progressing an idea I once had at university and slotting it all into place. This will be the exciting challenge, linking each piece of artwork together to create a cohesive series conveying a narrative and something I need to focus on to avoid a flat image. Exciting times ahead! #happydays
Influences and inspiration- The Pre-raphaelites, Renaissance, Venice, Doge's Palace, Leonardo Da Vinci, Johannes Vermeer, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edgar Degas, Laurence Alma Tadema, Frederic Leighton, Gustav Klimt, Gerhard Richter, Alison Watt, Paolo Roversi, Patrick Demarchelier, Francesca Woodman, Sigmund Freud, William Shakespeare, Charles Darwin, Oscar Wilde, Vogue and Audrey Hepburn.
