Gallery

ARTWORK DETAILS

Name: Charlotte Patterson	School:
Title: 'Alive'	Medium: Painting
Description: A brightly-coloured synthetic polymer, large-scaled abstracted self-portrait triptych, painted across three portrait-orientated canvases.

ARTIST STATEMENT

‘Alive’, is a self-portrait triptych created using synthetic polymer on canvas. Personal and formal contexts were employed through the symbolic, vibrant colour palette: pink, yellow and aqua which implicitly evokes themes of love, happiness, peace and clarity. This work is a ‘cure’ for the negative emotional repercussions people face both personally and socially. Soft lines, smooth gradients and a gentle expression help to evoke the subject’s inner peace and positions the audience to engage with and reflect upon the subject’s aura, whilst contemplating their own relationships. The additional set of embracing arms metaphorically symbolise the shared love and strength drawn from others.

ARTWORK PROCESS

A variety of paint application processes were employed to create this abstracted self-portrait, such as wet-into-wet blending (alla prima) and dry-brush scumbling to soften the transition between colours and create surface textural qualities. In addition, to create a visual juxtaposition between the foreground and background, a thick layer of paint was applied using a foam roller in different directions to develop textural blends of contrasting colours.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Charlotte Patterson

I have loved art and everything creative from an early age and whilst art may not have been a big part of the curriculum at my small, rural, primary school, it was something I always turned to, to fill my leisure time. At Fairholme, my talent has flourished and my passion has grown immensely. I have experimented with an array of artistic processes, styles and mediums; finding strengths, weaknesses and my own style. Although, I know I still have much to learn, discover and develop, I am keen to continue to push boundaries, increase my knowledge and build additional skills.