As a representational oil painter, my practice focuses primarily on the effects of light in relation to colour theory and the consequences that these have when combined with the human figure. Inspired by the unique nature of light and its ability to change in a matter of seconds, I work from self-taken photography as a way of creating a snapshot of its effects allowing me to paint an instance that would have been ‘unpaintable’ without. 

 

I believe that the concept of light as a whole is often overlooked within the industry despite the fact that light and tone are utilised in almost every piece of art both consciously and subconsciously, for some it is not noticed as an individual concept. It is through my practice that I try to celebrate the capabilities and beauty that light can have when manipulated, emphasising not only its first-hand appearance but the textural and sculptural capabilities that it has. 

 

Light is known to have such a diverse range of sources, however, within my most recent works, I choose to focus on the effects of projected light. 

 

At the beginning of my process, I take the time to sit down with my chosen models and discuss media that they find drives their own personal practices as well as daily inspirations, this has been seen to range from childhood film “Fairytopia” to well-known artist Judy Chicago. Interested in the way in which these inspirations shape them in the physical sense, I source images based on our discussions.

 

Situated in a dark room, working with a range of focuses and angles to try and capture the most interesting occurrences as the light adapts. Inspired by the theory of the “unpaintable”, I use my photography sessions to try and capture instances of light flares that would have been otherwise unobtainable if painted in a traditional life drawing setting. 

 

The ways in which the shapes from the projected image are able to translate the model's figure truly create a bespoke appearance in which model and inspirations are combined. It is this instance that I find particularly fascinating within my own work, watching my model be immersed in work that they have found driven their own creations while simultaneously being surrounded by lights and colour.

 

 

I find oil paint to be the best medium for capturing the intense colours that projected light is able to produce, not only through its pigmentation but its versatility as a whole. Often when painting projected light you notice a high amount of stark highlights and shadows that appear textural on the face- through utilising oil paint I am able to adapt its thickness accordingly making sure these details are celebrated. 

 

As I continue to develop my practice, I hope to further examine projected light through a range of narratives and compositions, seeing how it can develop alongside my work. I intend to branch out the light sources that I use within my reference images, experimenting with their capabilities and the colours they produce.