POLYNESIAN GIRLS Painting

“The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery.” Francis Bacon In my earlier role as a teacher, everything had been more or less structured, and so, painting replicas of works by artists such as Ernst Kirchner, Paul Gauguin, Pablo Picasso, and others, provided a safe haven for me. Although I found this practice immensely satisfying, I always had a compelling desire to create my own original works. I had delayed this consideration, as it seemed so daunting to have to rely almost entirely on my own imagination. Eventually, however, I managed to go ‘solo’ and find my own creative style. My paintings cross over multiple genres, which focus on everyday life experiences and memories and often include horses, flowers, seascapes and dancers. I am intrigued that many of the artists in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries produced many paintings of portraits and flowers as well as their other particular genres. I love to paint characters in a simplistic, yet sophisticated way and when I include their facial features, they seem to take on a life of their own and I feel that I already know them. I began my original artworks using carefully defined brush strokes with an emphasis on detail. Every daub of paint was scrutinized and earned its own rightful place within the painting. Recently, though, my paintings have taken on a more relaxed and confident artistic freedom. I love to choose rich and contrasting hues for my works, often painting multiple layers with texture and using loose and expressive brush strokes, especially when painting large expanses like the sea and the sky. Sometimes, I pursue more abstract, or poetically inclined subjects, which often resemble the simplicity of a child's drawing, but with a more sophisticated, emotional and poetic maturity. It is still important for me to learn from, and refer to, many of the works of other artists and in my own way, recreate an image and an atmosphere that is intrinsic to my painting and its authenticity. My artworks instinctively exhibit energy and movement and at other times reflect intense, deep emotion and soulfulness. There is usually a hidden narrative to be found within each painting, albeit with a touch of mischief. At the completion of each artwork, I am reminded of the words of Edgar Degas, “A painting requires a little mystery, some vagueness, and some fantasy.”