What are your main concerns? 

Expressing energy and gesture through figurative painting. I’d say my main concern is the question of beauty, and how the aesthetic is transformed into visual appeal. 

 

What are your biggest influences? 

I love Francis Bacon and Willem de Kooning. Last year I studied abroad in Valencia, and was really influenced by a module I took that involved drawing movement and dancing figures – so I took inspiration from some of the line work and the way that I actually drew figures and applied that to the way that I paint. That really inspired me to draw and paint in the way that I do now – a lot looser and less representational. I’ve gone through a lot of stages in my painting, but right now its just resolving and trying to engage the viewer with the idea of gesture and absence. 

 

 

 

 

What do you do first? What’s your process? 

The first thing I do is grab a cup of tea, and I’ll map out a rough edge of the main things. The way that I paint is quite spontaneous and reactive to the way that I feel and what I’m depicting. When I set out to paint, it’s not so much the result, it’s the process that I experience from painting, and trying to find resolution. It’s not as important to me to resolve it; it’s the process. I paint and work through things at once, I don’t just work on one area at a time, I move around the canvas, building up different areas. 

 

What do you enjoy most about the studio? 

I think since moving to this studio there’s a better sense of community. It’s nice because there’s always someone in, and it feels like there’s a lot more energy – people creating work and bouncing off each other. I’ve just started a collaborative piece with another girl. To actually be in a room with other painters, all working with the same medium, is great. 

 

How was your work changed? 

It’s completely changed. When I arrived fresh from school I was really interested in representational portraiture. After a really horrible crit in first year I think I got frustrated. I’d painted a self-portrait and I was trying to make it look perfect and they said to me ‘Mm no, not really working’. It was almost like a fuck you, you know what I’m fed up, I’m just going to paint over it and see what happens. From there it really developed. 

Second year was the least inspired and motivated I’ve been – I think that that definitely showed in my practice. My year abroad reinvigorated this fire in my heart to actually paint and enjoy it. It helped me to understand what I want from my last year. This is my favourite year for sure. I’ve got freedom. 

 

What are your plans after graduation? 

I think I’ll be returning to Spain for at least a year. I’m not really looking to jump into any postgraduate or masters courses immediately, if I do that it will be in a couple of years. There is the possibility of working in some sort of creative job, maybe graphic design, but at the moment I want to take a little bit of time off and continue painting. I’m planning to teach English in Spain, in Valencia or Barcelona.