Women in Art: From Muse to Creator
From 1st March to 14th April
The Meadows, Chelmsford CM2 6FD
I’ve got some work on show again and this time at The Art Place in Chelmsford. A place where I have been selling my cards for a few years now so it’s really great to have my art up on the wall too. The theme of the exhibition immediately caught my attention and felt relevant to my work.
I included the following words with my submission to describe the concept of my work:
As a female artist the women featured in my art leans towards a more sensitive depiction through the ‘female gaze’. It becomes a way to explore what it means to me to be a woman for myself and others.
I’m drawn to using references that show both a strength and a sensitivity, whilst I use life drawing references it is about the beauty and strength of women focussing on their faces and sometimes aspects of sensuality but not depicting women in an objectifying or sexualised way. They aren’t necessarily smiling or looking seductive or wearing makeup but show a subtle determination in their expressions with thoughts and feelings going on behind their eyes.
There is perhaps a more stereotypical aspect of showing women with nature like flowers, moths, butterflies and the underlying message could be read as women typically being more in tune with nature.
I want to create art that shows women of different ages and races not a typical media portrayal of what an attractive woman is. In upcoming work I want to further explore the archetypes of maiden, mother and crone.
Choosing my submissions:
It was tricky deciding which of my pieces to submit and I felt like I wanted to show a range of women. It’s also the first time that a newer painting (so new that I haven’t yet varnished it!) has been exhibited – ‘Head in the Clouds’.
Interestingly each of these paintings I chose to submit to the exhibition were a personal challenge at the time I was making them in terms of progressing my painting skills.
For example with this ‘Head in the Clouds’ painting I really felt like I was pushing myself with capturing the folds of the fabric as well as the details in the hair. I think I’ve also managed to sensitively capture the face with a bit more realism as well as keep a lot of luminosity to the skin. And I tried something different with the background by adding clouds. It perhaps has a bit more depth than some of my earlier work!
If you happen to be local, go and check it out!
It’s a really lovely exhibition and has a few pieces that really stood out to me as feeling poignant. But not only that the Art Place is filled with made with love pieces from local creators and artists for sale, as well as other walls full of art.
