As an artist, colour and light have stimulated me and been a predominant characteristic of my work.
I aim to make a representational painting that incorporates some of the stylistic attributes of abstraction, frontality, large scale, high key colour and guesture. To me the paintings look ‘real’ as opposed to ‘realistic’. Cezanne’s Mont Sainte Victoire doesn’t look like the mountain, the Mont Sainte Victoire looks like the painting Cezanne made.
Still Life painting has always been a major genre that I work in. This is because within still life an artist is free to choose colour and subject matter that is intriguing. The delight of flowers and the sense of abundance from fruit, breaking the rules of composition, using pattern and lighting to recreate the dynamic of Life.
My choice of subjects is made by both the visual and intuitive personal responses to the whole or part of the objects. I do not paint an object because it is attractive and fits in with good taste or style. I prefer people to respond to my paintings qualities rather than my subject matter’s innate attractiveness. I aim to use the subject/object as a metaphor for life.
I find that the effect that the use of photography and the visuals of television has had on our reaction to visual images, the breakdown and the reinterpretation of ‘reality’ into new images is fascinating.
In paintings following from this interest, I have tried to break the image into colour area and strokes that when viewed from a distance, form an illusion of a surface reality. The works using glassware as the theme are an example of this direction that this can take. I am exploring how the distortion of this affect can be used, breaking down colours into particles, avoiding the simulating of a ‘photographic’ reality.
My intrigue into painting glassware/still life than developed into ‘finding’ the subjects in situ – the first painting being ‘Café Zen’. The randomness of placement, colour juxtaposition became an exciting challenge.
This has then segued into the incorporation of figures along with the still lifes from cafes. The problem for me is making the figures feel as though they are lifelike, as if they could move any second – combined with the same abstract qualities as my original still lifes/glassware.
I have also found fascinating the abstraction that happens when viewing through glass and incorporating reflections – inside and out. There’s more to come.
Nell Frysteen