Playing with Fire Painting

Jodie McAlpin is a self-taught mixed-media artist from the Highlands in Scotland, but now lives in Yorkshire, England. For Jodie, creating art is about expressing herself through many layers of paint and different mediums, often describing her work and practice as finding beauty in chaos. She starts by using acrylic in fluid and spray paint form to make the initial marks on the canvas, before then deciding on the subject and using oils to finish. With oils, she finds joy in using meaningful brushstrokes that are often visible with thick paint. She finds inspiration in portraiture and wildlife and enjoys combining nature with portraiture and using vibrant colours often reflecting her emotions at the time of painting. Jodie is an artist today to live a happier life and is driven by gratitude. As someone who lives with cancer and has experienced significant loss, this has driven her to pursue what makes her heart happy and find herself with a deep sense of gratitude for life and feels lucky to be here today. With gratitude in her heart, she sees the world for all its beauty, and this is what inspires her work.