The Clown

The artists statement. I didn't give a lot of thought to this at Uni, but now it's something that is always on my mind because I have realised it's importance (to me and to others). I am a visual person, obviously, I am hopeless with words and find it very hard to compose a good written statement that reflects my work. I updated my statement a week ago - it took a few weeks of drafts however, when I have reviewed and updated, I feel I have a better understanding of my own work, so it's a good process to go through I believe regularly.

I have always been a figurative painter, but lately I have paid more attention to facial expression and clothing, dressing my figures up like dolls. My latest painting called 'the Clown', (when I painted this 'family roles' was something I started to read a lot about and I became particularly interested in exploring changing roles from childhood through to adulthood) spurred on this statement update.



I find this statement better expresses the next part of my journey:

"I have always been fascinated by the inner lives of others and its external expression. I’m intrigued by how people choose to present themselves, what they disclose to friends and strangers, which secrets they choose to keep. It’s only as I’ve gotten older that I have gained an understanding of other peoples trials and tribulations and the marks they leave. The character that has been formed by life.

When I lived in the country it seemed the more space people had the closer they became. We depended upon and supported each other. Living in the city however the closer we are physically, the further we are apart emotionally, the less we care about the people we share limited space with.

The subjects in my paintings share a space. I like my viewers to explore and describe this space themselves. I want them to question different elements as they view this space over time. I believe the life of a painting should evolve and reveal different meanings throughout the changes in the life of its owner.

I have always been an optimist. If I see something wrong I like to fix it and move on. I aid the figures in my work by adding color to their faces and clothes to brighten up their lives. Birds often appear, representing freedom, a guiding light, or simply a different path to follow."