Ally Morton

I paint objects, people and animals as symbols of a word, phrase or sentence which also titles the piece. These symbols are painted in an imaginary world of empty landscapes and the text comes from lyrics, wordplay, made up words and popular sayings. Typical reference material includes newspaper photography and Google images. //

The painting process involves sessions of spur-of-the-moment layering, scrubbing and ‘automatic painting’, an approach used in drawing by Surrealist André Breton. Imagery that ‘appears’ during my painting through pareidolia* is frequently incorporated into the composition adding to the paintings’ often naïve and child-like appearance. //
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*The imagined perception of a pattern or meaning where it does not actually exist. Common examples include seeing images of animals or faces in clouds, the man in the moon or the Moon rabbit, and hearing hidden messages on records when played in reverse.

2009 B.A. (Hons) Fine Art, Northumbria University