Artist’s Statement.

I am examining my personal connection to the landscape through the mimetic process of painting. By using the immediacy of the painting medium and by focusing on mark making and gestural brush strokes I seek to create a deeper, more intimate connection to the landscape.

Slowing down and taking time to concentrate on the artistic fundamentals of shape, value and line, I am giving myself permission to pay attention to the space. This allows the space to communicate to me its own significance, providing me a deeper connection with place. This active gaze allows the me to connect with the landscape on a personal level promoting empathy towards the landscape.

There is a tension between representing the landscape and the breaking down of the subject which allows for a mimetic affect. To aid in this tension and to create a personal intimacy with the subject, I choose to use a tall and narrow composition. This acts as a way of promoting focus on the space and forces me to concentrate on the parts of the landscape that appear most significant to me.

I have also chosen to use a monochromatic pallet due to my limited colour perception of deuteranomaly or red/green colour blindness. By concentrating on the chromatic values that I am able to see well I am hoping to invite the viewer to see the landscape though my perception of it.