Artist Articles

Artist Articles - Art Shows & Exhibitions

Artist Samuel Durkin

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I recently visited a great exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London. A collection of works by the Society of wildlife artists. I wasn't sure what to expect and I was worried that i'd be looking at chocolate box pictures without much energy or power.

I was more than pleasantly surprised. The work on show was both approachable and yet modern in style. Many pieces stood out for me but the work of two artist really caught my eye.

The work of John Threlfall is marvellous. He paints mainly birds as he lives on a small estuary off the Solway Firth in Scotland.  His work is free and energetic with bold brush stokes... yet it always remains still very true to it's subject and we can clearly identify the birds and the landscapes.

Brin Edwards work is colour and bold, and seems to be verging toward a type of cubism that I've been dallying with. Like to Johns work you can always identify the subjects, yet, the style is often made up of cubes of vivid colours.

In all i was very inspired and after see what other are doing it's really made me consider wildlife as a subject for my own art.

Artist Articles - Artist Biographies

Artist Vikki Hastings

The way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected.

Recently my practice has been concerned with highlighting the lack of perfection in a society that believes in the elusive ‘happily ever after’ concept. Fairy tale describes to us, a happiness that is completely dependent on the existence of Prince Charming. It is this man that you will fall head over heels in love with as he rescues you from a fire-breathing dragon, whisks you off your feet onto his beautiful white horse and makes you his Princess in an enchanted kingdom. However, our individuality hinders us in any relationship and perhaps human beings, as unromantic as it may seem, were designed to survive solo? Love can be short-lived - a mere interruption.

It is this ‘interruption’ which provides the basis for my most recent series of paintings. The idea of being completely connected to and surrounded by another human being. A pairing that allows you to fall victim to your own human nature, where you look into your ‘magic mirror’ and identify yourself as both a ‘goodie’ and a ‘baddie’. Flaw and corruption is in our make-up and we are as destructive as we are constructive, therefore we build relationships yet destroy them for impact, effect or response. My paintings primarily describe the positives, the idea of an intense feeling of deep affection for another individual, an exploration/experience of another person. I purposely use colour to represent both the idea of beauty and threat as well as peace and hardships. Love and hate play an unjustified role in our everyday thoughts and despite them being of opposite extremes it is our immaturity and naivety that forces us to attach these two words/feelings so closely to people/objects/places/experiences.

We naively embrace the idea of ‘forever and ever’ in relation to a temporary affair. Love is impermanent, yet our expectations are not. My work captures a moment where love could exist; a situation that is easily relatable.

Relationships are fragile, delicate things and this softness is magnified in the gentility of each finished canvas. Despite the description of an intimacy that exists only in the presence of two people, my work is also a comment on what is not portrayed to the viewer.

A secret.

Artist Articles - Artist Biographies

Artist Vikki Hastings

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Happily, But Not Ever After

Loosely based on the subject of fairy tale and born from an obsession with Disney’s, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, my work explores a world which lacks in ‘happily ever afters’ as well as the escapism implied by such stories. Part of my fascination with this particular fairy tale was the idea of even a ‘completely good’ human being falling victim to temptation. My paintings make a comment on how/why we choose to take ‘just one bite’ from our own poisonous apples, despite the threat of consequence. My interest in the character of Snow White, specifically when I was younger, was that she existed in the stories as a perfectly good human being, however as we mature we realise that there is no such thing as complete good or complete evil and that all of us can in fact, identify with both ‘Snow White’ and ‘The Wicked Stepmother’. My paintings tell the story of an alternate world and stems from my interest in, not so much a perfect, happily ever after world, but just a differing one.

As part of my research for this body of work, I studied the original Hans Christian Andersen and Charles Perrault tales and without ignoring my long term relationship with Walt Disney’s more prettified versions, I allowed my work to fall somewhere in between. I attempt to depict a visual that I consider to be beautiful then consciously flaw it – this method can be found in the ‘broken paintings’ such as, “Just One Bite And All Of Your Dreams Will Come True” and, “There’s No Such Thing As Snow White.” Alongside this, I also choose to include areas of complete darkness within my paintings to heighten the sense of something tainted and the idea of the fear of the unknown. I find it to be important for fairy tales to create a balanced description of good and evil (Snow White and the Wicked Stepmother) and my intention was for my work to have a similar balance.

The stories themselves encourage escape. We use them for problem solving. The moment you find yourself asking, ‘What if?” is a means of escape. What if my Buzz Lightyear really did come alive the moment I stepped out of my bedroom? What if my mobile phone really was a transformer? What if that man that I met really was my Prince Charming? Escapism, positive or negative is in itself, inescapable and I believe my work provides me with a means to do so, and as an ornament in a harsh reality there will be times where we cannot help but bite from our own poisoned apples and face the consequences of such an action. The world is an offering of temptation and want, and at times we will fall victim to our human nature. I find this to be unsettling and my paintings offer me a way of dealing with my own ‘apple’ by repeatedly confronting it. By converting something considered negative in a beautiful light, I am changing the way I view my own temptations, bad decisions and overall naivety.

(Artist Statement from my current exhibition)

Artist Articles - Artist Biographies

Artist Andrew Patrick Jones

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At last after fifty one years on this planet in space,my space has arrived.

Lots of blood sweat and tears,trials and tribulations,even no and yes,or maybe,my time has arrived.

A book has been published containing all my own work,in black inks.

The title is INKTASTIC,VISIONS IN INK ,published by thorn press ,Tessa Warburg.

ISBN NO 978-0-906374-04-7. Available on amazon .com june 9th 2011.

Sorry about the pitch,but hey you've got to shout occasionally to be heard.

The art work is gothic,fantasy ,and space themes,with a few wierd ones thrown in for the mix.

All the images are in my gallery,no doubt you have seen them,well how about owning them in a lovely book.

Never give up your dreams they do come true,may take a while,may happen when you leave this mortal world.

All artists become famous one way or another,dead or alive,its a long ladder,and im on the first ,no second rung. Thank you for supporting me on ARTS FINE COMMUNITY