Rebecca Herrington

The current work is a direct response to observations of the natural world recorded through the artist’s own photography. This provides permanent imagery with which to work. There is strong emphasis placed on the aesthetic value of the original photograph as it is directly responsible for the finished painting. This method is also accountable for the strong photographic elements within each piece, most notably the varied focal lengths.

The aim of each painting is to challenge the observer into accepting an unaccustomed view of nature and appreciating it in a way that would not have been considered before. The size of the paintings and the ‘upfrontness’ of the subject introduce an element of confrontation. This, coupled with the extra charge of colour, makes the familiar shapes become almost seductive against their deep backgrounds.

Technique

The oil paint is applied from one side of the canvas to the other in one sitting allowing for the boundaries of the colours to blur into each other. With this technique it is imperative that the paint is applied wet on wet. Watercolour brushes are also used to provide finer brush strokes resulting in faultless photo-realism.