The Female Form - Fine Art BA with hons

These are some of the pieces that I created during my last year at University. My work was based around how 'Society' vews the aging imperfect woman, once you hit your mid thirties, and you gain weight. in Western culture there is underlying current of being past it, not interesting and definately not attractive.

Through my paintings using images of myself as well as other 'imperfect' women I was trying to say, we may not be perfect or be a size 8, however we do have a certain beauty in our imperfections.

Furthermore this work draws on the pressures that are put on young people to be so called 'attractive' even if this means not eating properly to lose that extra 2lbs to get into a size 6. Size is a huge issue within society, and people are wrongly judged on appearance.

I wanted to explore what was quirky and could be unusual, with images taken at different angles, and parts of the form rather than a complete full length female form.

Paintings from 2000 - 2005

The Clock

Really enjoyed creating this piece, I love the inner workings of real clocks, nowadays everythings is digital and the mechanics are a forgotten world.

Dandelion

When nature is at it's simpliest there is an innocence that is often missed, sometimes it is good to paint what is not appreciated, but causes no debate.

The Model

This was made in 2001 and I was just experimenting in colour and hues that exaggerated the flesh tones.

The Swimmer

Still working with the form, and I have been influenced by the work of Bill Talbot, as I worked in his Studio, he was probably the only person who really encouraged me to be an artist and allowed me full use of his studio.

Zoe

A great friend who wanted to pose for me, the paintings I made belonged to her apart from this piece which is one that I hope reflects her beauty and sincere nature and shyness.

Poppies

My response to Remembrance Day.

These paintings are just a few of the pieces that I have painted since I first picked up a paintbrush and used oil paints. I was lucky enough and I am eternally grateful to Bill Talbot who nurtured my first awkward steps into painting, his constant encouragement and patience is something that I can never forget. I did not start to paint until I was 28 years old, back in 2000. My husband had left me and I met someone who introduced me to Bill, a life changing event.

I know that I am not a great painter or real artist as such, I struggle to comprehend the contextual aspect of Art.

As I age I struggle to balance the need to paint, with the need to be accepted as an artist, especially as my work rarely sells. I struggle to paint because I have to work and provide for my child I decided to do a degree to help me be a credible artist and yet it left me feeling more inadequate than before.