The Spirit After Dark Painting

Ella Jackson (b.2001) lives in both London and Dorset. Graduating in 2023 from Central Saint Martins in BA (Hons) Fine art, her practice fundamentally explores storytelling and creating narrative. Currently, Ella is influenced by the stories within books, films and music, transporting her to new worlds or realms beyond the one we live in. Themes of mythology, folklore, fantasy and magic being of primary focus. She is drawn to the relationships between characters and the scenes where these are most prominent. The subjects are inspired by people she knows, recharacterised within these fanciful scenes. The process in making the paintings begins with colour, with the manipulation of additional colours placed on a coloured surface being of interest. Her palette is ever evolving from warm tones of pinks and oranges to raw umbers and burnt siennas, orchestrated to the story she tells. Each work is a gradual build-up of delicate, intimately applied brush strokes. Whilst not adhering to the science and colour theory behind ‘Pointillism’, the style of each stroke is arguably of a similar nature. They show the labour of the artist’s hand.