Eclipse Painting

Aly Lloyd is a British contemporary painter. Her work represents a unique fusion between geometric abstraction and expressive figurative portrayals of women. Central to her practice is the exploration of boundaries between free-flowing natural form and the fixed lines, angles and points of mathematical shape. She views these visual assets as inexplicably intertwined and fundamental structures of the natural vs man-made world, yet often existing just beyond our conscious perception. Her work allows us to consider these in forefront of our awareness and her compositions aim to strike a balance between these competing dualistic assets. Aly's process involves observing, analysing, deconstructing and then reassembling visual imagery that captivates her through a careful and methodological application of paint - typically working with acrylic or watercolour as both suit her fast pace of working. The resulting creations are often percieved as having seemingly digital qualities, with over-saturated or intensely contrasted colour palettes, elements of optical illusion, and a pure expression of emotion through the canvas, often causing viewers to pause and revisit the image multiple times. Whilst the process of deconstruction has remained a constant, Aly’s work continues to evolve and shift. Her early and smaller works on paper were typically monochrome depictions with injections of abstract colour, created using what has become her signature and somewhat chaotic watercolour application technique. In her current works, we see her larger scale acrylic compositions evolve into a cacophony of colour through interlocking patterns - a wide spectrum of bright and expressive language. She describes the processes of these creations as very different – energising vs meditative – but both a creative and expressive outlet. Aly was born in the Forest of Dean (Gloucestershire, England) in 1990. She is self-taught, although has been painting and drawing from a young age. She spent her early years painting alongside academic pursuits in Psychology and studied to a PhD level, before working as a behavioural analyst in the fashion industry. She considers her continuous journey to deconstruct the natural world as being central to her artistic influence, a theme that she continues to explore through the canvas.