Escape from Reality, oil, 47.2 x 35.4" (119 x 89 cm)Eddy Greenwood
Inspiration
From the safe space of her bedroom, a girl is painting a scene from Alice in Wonderland. It’s a place where she can play with the borders of reality and develop, just like Alice, from shy and insecure to confident and heroic. The painting explores how fairytales help children understand the world around them through the fight between good and evil. I believe fairytales let children deal with these issues in their own mind before facing them in the real world.
Process
As an artist, I like to keep the painting experience as real as possible, so first, I built the bedroom in my studio with two walls and a child’s bed. Then I designed all the background scenes and created a small oil painting of them on a 30-by-40 cm panel. This was then scanned and printed on wallpaper big enough to cover the walls. With the girl kneeling on the bed, I could then adjust the position of the wallpaper so it looked like she was painting the Mad Hatter. Now I had everything together, lit from a north facing window, and I knew it would make a good painting. The flow of light over the girl was beautiful, and I could see exactly how her shadow fell on the wall. While she was in the studio I would work on her portrait, and the rest of the time was spent painting the background and her outfit, which I placed on a dummy.
Mokosh, watercolor on paper, 9.4 x 10.6" (23 x 26 cm)Emma Rach-Syslak
Inspiration
In this portrait, I have captured Isabella in watercolors against a backdrop of Croatian embroidery, each cross meticulously measured and hand-painted to mimic stitches. The pattern is adorned with symbols of Mokosh, the Slavic goddess of female endeavors, including weaving. Revered as the “Great Mother,” Mokosh represents destiny, fate and the protection of women. This piece was inspired during my time at the Florence Academy of Art by my schoolmate and friend, Isabella, who taught me about the art of embroidery and its cultural significance for women in Croatia.
Process
Intricate stitching patterns and techniques are passed down through generations, with mothers teaching daughters and grandmothers teaching granddaughters, creating a profound bond between generations. I, too, share a cherished closeness and connection to my mother and grandmother. When Isabella lost her grandmother, I wanted to capture this sentiment in the art. Through this piece, I aim to honor and celebrate the enduring connection between generations of women, woven together by love, tradition and resilience. In April 2024, Mokosh was exhibited in London, winning the Young Artist Award for the 212th Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours exhibition.
Self-Portrait #1, graphite, 27 x 20" (58 x 50 cm)Jamie Cassaboon
Inspiration
Like most artists, I think the self-portrait gives us an opportunity to connect with viewers in a more personal way. Additionally, it provides us with a chance at self-exploration and expression. Being rather new to portraits, I was driven first by the easy access to a model, but even more so by an introspective moment in my life and the chance to delve deeper into that with my work.
Process
For this piece, I created the background with soft vine charcoal and cotton wool. I masked the area for the figure and worked on the background in large, broad strokes. I rarely work with charcoal, but I do prefer the softer, less reflective appearance for certain applications. The figure is entirely in graphite; I used a variety of wooden pencils and 2mm leads ranging in hardness from 8B to 4H mostly, and I worked in layers, blending with brushes, stumps and various makeup sponges and applicators.
Regent, acrylic, 14 x 11" (35 x 27 cm)Primary Hughes
Inspiration
For the painting, Regent, the inspiration draws from an exploration of identity and narrative through fragmented form. The work reflects a fascination with the balance between representation and abstraction, aiming to evoke a sense of hidden meaning without a literal, classical portrayal. The feminine subject in Regent is crafted through intertwined layers of color and form which emerge and dissolve within a space that straddles realism and the dreamlike. The choice of layered motifs and harmonized colors is meant to reveal the figure as a part of a larger narrative tapestry and symbolize their connection to the woods and understanding of forest magic.
Process
The process begins with a personal catalog of reference photography, which for Regent, included mostly natural and floral elements captured in my backyard and at botanical gardens. In Photoshop, I layer these images onto the portrait of a model that I have taken, adding new forms through a collage of elements that sometimes disrupts the representation. The composition also includes two-dimensional patterns and curvilinear vector shapes, inspired by Art Nouveau and reminiscent of wallpaper motifs. These ornamental elements contrast with the more realistic rendering of the portrait, establishing a shifting play of flat and dimensional space.
Once the composition takes shape digitally, I draw it onto a gesso-primed panel and begin the final acrylic painting. Through a blend of abstraction and representational painting techniques, Regent combines fragmented forms in search of rhythm and harmony, constructing an intricate visual language that invites continued discovery and reflection.