This half of term, I have spent quite a lot of time outside, drawing the flowers and plants in bloom across the school.
With Chelsea Flower Show starting this week in London, I thought it would be the perfect time to share a little snippet of Sevenoaks School in bloom.
It’s a rainy day here in Sevenoaks so it is a good opportunity to reflect. March brought blossom, daffodils and tulips. April and May has followed with alliums, bluebells, irises and rhododendrons.
Images of the designs, details and latest stage of two seaweed studies i’m currently working on.
Happy to see how this pair have been growing out of the canvas. Recent conversations and visits to see exhibitions have greatly influenced my practice.
The marbled, inky backgrounds to these pieces were quite dulled. I began blocking sections in with white to disguise and enhance some of the stains. Ink I chose to keep, I further enhanced by painting into with stronger tones. The process has become really rhythmic and improvised as I also try to maintain a sense of balance and calm within the chaos.. I’m enjoying how some of the splattered and inky shapes mimic familiar things.
I popped into Studio West Gallery on Saturday to see their current exhibition, The Blush Upon Her Cheek. I was also lucky enough to listen to a selection of readings by writers responding to some of the themes within the show.
“Drawing from Restoration Court painter Sir Peter Lely’s Windsor Beauties (1660s), a set of eleven portraits depicting ladies of the court of King Charles II, the exhibition sees a trio of contemporary artists examine the problematics entrenched in the cultivation and appreciation of beauty.”
“Through delicate, sumptuous and subtle pieces spanning sculpture and painting, The Blush Upon Her Cheek sees a trio of contemporary artists examining the problematics entrenched in the cultivation and appreciation of beauty: Leo Costelloe, Florence Reekie, and Ki Yoong. ”
I took so much from this intimate collection of work. Florence Reekie’s choice of working on reclaimed fabric reminded me that the surface is part of the painting. Looking closely at Reekie’s work, the pristine and quiet backdrops contained memory of the previous function of the fabric. In one piece, the canvas was neatly glitched by a seam running vertically down, through the dark, void space.
For me, the entire exhibition was tactile yet precious. It was secretive, with work by Yoong almost revealing itself from behind a curtain. I loved the curatorial details by Bella Bonner, with fragments of shadows and lights; some still and some flickering, leading you from piece to piece. I loved the morphing of materials; almost becoming something whole - a melting candle lowering itself slowly down into the depths and curves of silver ribbon, itself also melting and cascading down the side of the plinth.
I wanted to photograph some structured forms that contain pattern and rhythm within them. I loved the way some morphed into the marbled backdrops whilst some lines, pattern and colour allowed for contrast and something more confronting.
Recent trips to galleries and museums has informed my own practice and encouraged me to broaden my techniques and processes. Focusing in on details within the paintings I have seen has encouraged me to be more intuitive with layers and the growth of a composition.
I am drawn to patternation and colour; seeing something familiar within a scene or section. Working with sections of marbled paper, printing natural forms and fragmenting the images I work from have allowed me to be playful with the way my paintings develop.
I love creating sketchbooks along-side the students, especially exam groups. I’ve set myself the challenge of responding to the GCSE topic ‘Transformation’ with a project about plants, flowers & natural forms. The two galleries were perfect for gathering inspiration.
I am really interested in the way humans interact with nature and the development of manmade versions that still manage to evoke a similar feeling and emotion. Ofcourse, we need nature to survive but I am intrigued by the way more and more synthetic and faux objects that can often look so real, enter our homes and to what end this will have.
In a creative way and when thinking of Artists and inspiration for my project, I was drawn to representations of nature in painting and sculpture and again was led to consider the subject matter I could use. For centuries, Artists have depicted plants and flowers and their beauty is within the essence of life, decay or death captured by the brush strokes. But how many Artists today paint from life or instead find themselves using something fake or mass produced to achieve the same effect.
A fantastic day in London with students studying GCSE Art. A visit to The National Gallery followed by a walk to The Courtauld to see more paintings and a concert by The Guildhall of Music & Drama.
I’ve been painting some of my seaweed montages onto marbled canvas. Trying to blend and morph the specimens within the compositional rhythm of the marbling. Enjoying the play with balance and a backdrop that is quite chancery.
Seaweed has been my focus so far. Gathered images and specimens found on the beach in Suffolk. Composed in to larger scenes and combined with other objects and subjects.
Oil paintings form an integral part of my practice. Research into Contemporary Botanical Art encouraged larger than life interpretations of detailed specimens, resulting in abstract and impressionistic responses and designs. O’Keeffe is one of many Artists to influence my work. To enlarge something so recognisable as fruits and vegetables not only celebrates their beauty but allows space for a new value and perspective of the subject.
Subjectivity ranges from botanical specimens to wildflower scenes and landscapes. Predominantly, the background is removed; allowing the painterly forms to float upon the surface; portraits in themselves. Completed scenes and scapes therefore act as preliminary sketches and inspiration. Within the fruits, vegetables and flowers are sunsets, mountains and anthropomorphic connections.
Garlic Bulb, 2014. Colours and inspiration taken from a sunset.
Fig, 2015. Inspiration from a study by Egon Schiele.
It is an absolute delight to be a part of the Sevenoaks School Community for the academic year. My sole focus is painting with oils. I produce large canvases of natural forms and botanical specimens. Having taught Art for over six years, this is also an opportunity to expand upon my knowledge of materials and processes and delve in to the incredible facilities on offer with in the department. I sell my work through exhibitions, my website and welcome commissions year round.
Follow me here or via my website and instagram.
www.elizastimpson.com
@ejs.studio
Eliza has joined Sevenoaks to work as artist in residence and art teacher for the year. She is going to blog here about her work as it develops.