Tag Archives: paintings

Take five with… Lyn Aylward, figurative portrait paintings

Lyn Aylward’s paintings are concerned with the human figure, portraying people from different backgrounds, in both figurative, narrative works and more traditional portraiture. Her distinctive, realist paintings also explore human relationships, family ties and recollections of childhood.

Family (from on high) oil on canvas ©Lyn Aylward

Take five with… is an ongoing series of informal interviews with Artworks artists. Without further ado, let’s ‘take five‘ with the figurative painter Lyn Aylward, who is a new member of Artworks.

Which person most encouraged you to first become an artist?
My mother first encouraged me. She studied to be an art and history teacher at Southampton during the 1960s and had (and still has) a wonderful sketchbook that she worked in that is filled with portraits and figurative studies of her room mates and friends during her time there. I have always wanted to have a sketchbook that was half as good as hers and I definitely haven’t managed it yet!

Which living artist do you most admire and why?
Chuck Close, whose work is beautiful and for bringing the portrait back into fashion when it was no longer considered to be a modern art form. He is an inspirational artist who comes up with gems such as ‘problem solving is way too overrated‘. ‘Problem creation is much more interesting‘ and painting is ‘coloured dirt smeared on a flat surface, usually stretched around some wooden sticks‘.

Self Portrait, oil on canvas, 2000-2001 ©Chuck Close

Whereabouts in the world is (or has been) the most inspiring location for you as an artist?
I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2009 and I have to say that when I walked into the room that housed the Chuck Close, Andy Warhol and Alex Katz works I found myself in heaven. I was on holiday with my cousins and they had to sit and wait for me for at least quarter of an hour whilst I stood in front of the Chuck Close ‘Lucas’ painting alone. There are many fantastic works of art in the museum and I really would like to go back and spend a lot longer there. My cousins presented me with a printed bag after the trip which includes a photograph on the front of me standing in front of the ‘Lucas’ painting. I obviously stood there for what seemed like ages to them but nowhere near long enough for me!

Lucas, oil on canvas, 1987 ©Chuck Close

What do you listen to while creating – music, a radio station, or do you work in silence?
I am a huge fan of all types of music so often have music playing when painting. The type of music depends on what I am working on at the time. I mostly listen either to a classical film soundtrack or classical music as it is the only way to stop me singing along to songs and losing my concentration! Or it has to be something sung in a different language to keep me from joining in or an audio book – usually Agatha Christie. The golden rule for me is to NEVER put anything on that can be danced to as that just leads to some very dodgy dance moves and some shaky painting!

Dance Teachers, oil on canvas, ©Lyn Aylward

How do you generate or develop ideas for your art?
I tend to scribble ideas on bits of paper and I do have an ‘ideas’ book that I paste into any scribbles, photos or pictures that I think might inspire me at some point. I am inspired by other artists, photographers, film, books and often the people around me so ideas can spring from anywhere.


Clare and Katie Leaping, oil on canvas ©Lyn Aylward

Could you describe your art studio set-up.
One room, no running water, no heating and the scariest steep staircase but it has wonderful big windows so excellent light. Brilliant in the summer but freezing in the winter!

What time in the day are you at your most creative?
Definitely during the morning and the worst time is during the evening.

What is the purpose of drawing for you as an artist?
Drawing is incredibly important for me. I always begin paintings with preparatory sketches. I never go straight to the canvas. Plus I think that even if my sketches are not brilliant, they have helped me to really look at my subject so that when I get to the stage of working on canvas I have already got a good feel for the subject/sitter.

Delusions, oil on canvas ©Lyn Aylward

Is there an art medium/technique you’d most like to try but haven’t yet?
I have never tried etching and I would love to try this as I like the idea of being able to have more freedom to draw than some of the other printing methods. I have only printed using lino, lithography and collagraph to date.

If you had to choose between using a pen or a pencil – which one and why?
I would always choose a pencil. The way that you can make different marks with a pencil is the reason why. Plus you can start a sketch using very light marks so that you are able to correct any mistakes and I find that a pencil enables me to give more tone than ink.

Do you have a personal motto?
I heard Antony Gormley say this in a TV documentary and I have stolen it for my own motto! It is on the back of an envelope and pinned to the wall in my studio. It is ‘what is worth doing, do it completely and tell it like it is‘.

Waste Man, 2006 ©Antony Gormley

Thank you very much Lyn, for ‘taking time out‘ for the Artworks blog – we appreciate the insight into your creative world! Read more about Lyn Aylward‘s work on the Artworks website or view more of her paintings on her own website: www.lynaylward.co.uk

In addition to being a new artist with Artworks in 2011, Lyn Aylward is also an active member of the Norfolk Artists group Breckland Artists. She exhibits her work at a number of galleries throughout East Anglia and also accepts portrait commissions.

There will be another ‘take five‘ artist interview on the Artworks blog soon, so stay tuned…

Take five with… Eleonora Knowland, abstract painter

The Artworks blog today ‘takes five’ with the painter Eleonora Knowland. Eleonora’s minimal, abstract paintings are much informed by the rural landscape where she lives, as she explains:

Time spent in contemplation reveals the subtle beauty of the Suffolk landscape which is reflected in my paintings. Muted colour expresses the tranquillity, harmony and immensity of the horizon that is around my Suffolk home. The Suffolk landscape is full of moments of excitement, colour and light, and I am interested in trying to understand what I am experiencing when I see them.

I have developed a technique of stretching a manipulated canvas over a curving stretcher, which echoes the soft rolling undulations of the landscape but also creates an interaction with the viewer. Moving around the painting, diverse aspects become dominant, the light catches it differently down a slope, the eye is attracted by a row of stitching, interesting shadows are thrown onto the wall. The stitched lines in the structure of the canvas allude to agricultural and habitation practices that have shaped the landscape we see.

The perception of colour in your paintings is very subtle, understated, minimal, layered – do you have a favourite colour (in life or your art)?
Blue, it is the colour I understand most and I find the easiest to paint in, which could be considered a handicap for a landscape painter. My recent paintings in green have given me more confidence with the colour.

The titles for your paintings are very intriguing too, also quite minimal. How do come about or decide on what you will call them?
A trick one this. For a few years I have been calling them times of day and the season. For example ‘8.11 Winter‘ but my current work will have some reference to light, the preliminary work will refer to the final piece.

Eleonora Knowland, 8.11 winter, oil on canvas

How would you summarise your art in just a few words for someone completely new to your work?
It would be calm, followed by full of colour, enigmatic, abstract, and layered.

What are you working on at the moment?
My current work has been building towards a single painting from an initial photograph I took a few years ago. I developed ideas in a sketch book, then sketches in oil on watercolour paper, then oil on oil-ready paper, two studies on canvas and now I am beginning the final piece. This will of course not actually be final as I expect this subject will bug me for many years to come.

Could you give us a picture of your studio space/set-up?
I work in a converted 1950’s grain store beside my home. My industrial sewing machine is in one corner ready for me to stitch on the canvas for some of my paintings. There are my unsold paintings and drawings of nudes on the wall. More paintings lean against the shelving, they stack really badly because of the curved canvasses.

Do you have any music playing while you are painting in your studio?
I listen to a variety of classic and solo artists on my ipod. What’s a typical working day for you as an artist: Up early, a few household chores, painting or stretching canvas etc. As I paint in layers of oil paint and I only work on a couple of paintings at a time I have usually done what I can by lunch. Occasionally I will return in the afternoon if I am stretching and priming a new canvas. Dig the vegetable garden etc, walk the dog etc do “stuff” cook, eat sleep start again.

And what time in the day are you at your most creative?
In the morning. I paint after breakfast then garden or do whatever after that.

Is there a contemporary artist whose work you particularly admire?
The Irish painter Felim Egan. His abstract landscapes have a clarity and spatial understanding that I find very uplifting.

What have you discovered from looking at the work of other artists, such as Egan?
That thin unseen layers of paint lift a painting from the ordinary to the extra ordinary.

Felim Egan, Tideline g, watercolour on paper, 2005

Can you remember the first work of art you ever saw for real?
I remember a Bridget Riley Op Art painting during the 1960’s. Her paintings were very exciting. What’s your first memory of creating art and what was it? I remember painting a wave on a sheet of 4ft x 8 ft hardboard with a friend when I was about 15. I went to a very “arty” school form the age of 10/11 so I have many memories of creating everything from copper pots through books to dresses and paintings.

That’s very interesting, that you should recall painting a wave, with reference to your own curved canvases and the paintings of Bridget Riley.

Bridget Riley, Late Morning, 1967-8, (collection TATE)

If you could select one famous artist to invite to dinner (dead or living, it’s not a problem) who would it be and what question/s would like to ask them?
Turner. I would ask about how he saw the world and why he painted in such a colourful abstract way.

JMW Turner, Norham Castle, Sunrise c.1845 (collection TATE)

Is there a famous artwork or painting you would really like to own, assuming money & space is not a problem?
I would happily house anyone of the more enigmatic Turner’s, a Rothko or a Felim Egan.

Mark Rothko, Untitled, oil on canvas, c.1950-2 (collection TATE)

We all have opinions about art. Is there one work of art (contemporary or historical) that you don’t like – and if so, why?
Salvador Dali’s ‘The Persistence of Memory‘. I find it really interesting but the paint is too smooth and it feels slick to me.

Salvador Dalí, The Persistence of Memory, oil on canvas, 1931 (collection MOMA)

Drawing is talked about a lot as a fundamental aspect of creating art, what is the purpose of drawing for you as an artist?
Drawing reminds me to look, to see really carefully. Photographs are helpful but to really understand, a few minutes with pencil or crayon in hand makes all the difference.

What single piece of advice would you give to a budding, aspiring artist?
Draw/sketch every day.

So, what’s in your current sketchbook?
It is full of studies on one photo of light seen through trees.

Is there an art medium/technique you’d like to try but haven’t yet?
I would like to do some more work with print. I did some printmaking during my degree but would like to develop it more.

The East Anglian landscape is clearly very inspiring to you as a painter, but the ‘Atmosphere’ series of paintings suggest a different direction. Is there a place in the world that you’d really like to visit, as a new source of inspiration?
I would like to visit the Antarctic.

If you were stranded on a desert island (or Antarctica!) without any art materials or equipment what would you most miss using?
Canvas.

Lastly, lots of people like to ask this simple question of artists – why do you make art?
I have to.

And what do you think is the role of an artist in contemporary society?
It’s impossible to say as I think they fill many roles. My role as an artist may be to make people look about them and see the beauty in everyday surroundings.

Many thanks Eleonora!

You can see more of Eleonora’s distinctive paintings on her Artworks profile page, or visit her own website, eleonoraknowland.co.uk

Eleonora Knowland had a successful career in interior design and fashion before studying Fine Art at Colchester School of Art and Design, where she graduated in 2006 with a First Class Honours degree. Married to a Suffolk farmer, she has lived in East Anglia for over 30 years and much of her creative inspiration is derived from the subtle beauty of the open Suffolk landscape. She has exhibited in both East Anglia and London.

Take five with… Helen Dougall, batik artist & painter

Welcome to a brand new series of articles on the Artworks blog. It’s called quite simply ‘Take five with…‘ – and it aims to be an engaging & informal introduction to each one of our Artworks artists. Without further ado, let’s ‘take five‘ with batik artist & painter Helen Dougall…

Firstly, Helen tells us a little about what inspires her as an artist and how she makes her batik paintings.

I have always been interested in landscape in all its diversity, after my childhood in Wales and now living in Suffolk, but also the visible effects that man has made, negatively and positively, on the landscape. Expressing “a sense of place” and my reaction to it is important to me. I paint and draw directly from observation, in an effort to capture the complete essence of landscape.

My drawings and paintings, mainly in gouache or aquarelle pastel are always done on the spot. These media have an immediacy which enables me to express my interest in space and colour. These ideas also have a particular affinity with the craft of batik, in the way molten wax can be painted or drawn across dyed fabric to produce textural effects.

To make a batik painting, selected areas of fabric are blocked out with molten wax and then the fabric is dyed. The waxed areas resist the dye, while un-waxed areas absorb the dye. The process of waxing and dyeing is repeated by waxing or blocking out areas on the dyed fabric after it has dried, then dyeing it a different colour.

Because dyes are transparent, the second colour is changed by the first colour e.g. a blue over yellow will produce green. Some of my batiks are immersed up to seven or eight times, usually starting with the lightest colour and progressing through medium tones, finishing with the darkest colours.

A particular effect of successive dyeing is the harmonious, layered combination of colours, i.e. apart from the first colour all the following ones are combinations of all the preceding colours. Another effect is the emergence of fine hair-lines within the design, caused by the wax cracking in the dye bath, or it is deliberately “crunched” to produce a subtle “crackle” effect.

Sometimes the dyes are selectively painted on rather than immersing the whole fabric in the dye bath. After the final dyeing the wax is later removed from the fabric by ironing & blotting between sheets of newsprint to reveal the final design. The piece is then dry-cleaned, washed, dried and mounted on a frame much like a canvas.

An awareness and sense of colour is obviously very important to you as an artist. What is your favourite colour & why?
A bluey-greyey-green, the colour of the sea on the west Wales coast. The Cardiganshire and Pembrokeshire coast are very inspiring locations in addition to the landscape of East Anglia. I am particularly interested in the effect of sunlight across stubble fields, or seascapes with wet, shiny undulating beaches or multicoloured shingle.

So, for someone completely new to your art, how would describe it in just a few simple words?
Subtle, colourful, textural, feeling, atmospheric, and ‘landscape’ is a word I use quite a lot in reference to my work.

Why do you make art?
It sounds corny, but I need to be creative. So, how do you generate or develop the ideas for your work? Lots of drawing from observation, taking photographs and improvising, with different visual ideas.

Could you describe your studio space/set-up.
My studio is a converted farm building, a cart shed adjoining an old stable and barn, it’s long and low and it faces south, so we put in a north-facing roof-light, and it looks out onto a secluded garden.

Your studio sounds wonderful! What’s a typical working day for you as an artist?
The morning is mostly devoted to domestic chores, paperwork and e-mails, sometimes dog-walking and looking out for places that are interesting to draw. Afternoon and sometimes evening, is when I retreat to my studio, or if the weather is good, I go out with my easel and paints. If I’m working in batik, after spending a long time painting and drawing wax on cloth, I soak the whole piece in dye. While it is drying, and before I can continue with it, I might go and hoe a row of carrots! What time in the day are you at your most creative, do you think? Around mid afternoon.

And, what do you listen to while creating?
I listen to the radio and classical or jazz music.

Would you care to share what’s in your current sketchbook?
Drawings of raised furrows across a field where I think onions have been planted.

Which living artist do you most admire and why?
Howard Hodgkin. Fantastic colour and being able to describe a feeling or place in abstract terms with such an economy of incredibly sensitive brushstrokes.

So, that leads nicely to the question, which famous artwork would you most like to own, if money & space was not an issue?
One of Howard Hodgkin’s paintings, possibly ‘Blue Remembered Hills’.

Howard Hodgkin, Blue Remembered Hills, oil on wood 2002-03

Could you name one work of art (contemporary or historical) that you don’t like – and why?
Richard Hamilton’s ‘Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing?‘. It describes an age I was trying to move away from, it makes me cringe – so I suppose it was effective in its intentions!

Richard Hamilton, Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing? 1956

Share something unusual you’ve learnt from looking at the work of other artists.
Nostalgia, such as looking at Eric Ravilious’s watercolour, ‘An Attic Bedroom‘, the camp bed in a bare-boarded, cluttered room; it reminds me of childhood summer holidays.

Eric Ravilious, An Attic Bedroom, watercolour on paper, 1932-34

Which artist (dead or living) would you fancifully like to invite to dinner and what question/s would you ask them?
Berthe Morisot. What was it like being almost the only woman painter (of note), surrounded by so many men painters at the end of the nineteenth century in France? Also, what was her attitude to motherhood after her painting of ‘The Cradle‘ ?

Berthe Morisot, Le Berceau (The Cradle), oil on canvas, 1872

That’s a very interesting point regarding female artists in society. What do you think is the role of an artist in today’s society?
To reflect good and bad things; I tend to go for the aesthetic.

Students of art might be reading this with great interest, so what single piece of advice would you give them to make it as an artist?
Keep following your hunches and learn many hand-skills, drawing, painting, printmaking, working in 3D, as many techniques as possible because art schools have tended to offer fewer in recent years.

And lastly, what is your personal motto (if you have one)?
Get something done each day, however insignificant.

Thank you Helen, for a small glimpse into your creative world, and that’s a very good note to end on! I am sure our readers will be inspired. There is clearly a lot of time & skill involved in Helen’s incredibly detailed batik paintings and she explains the many stages of creating one her batiks, ‘The Snow Field‘ (shown above), on her own website.

Helen also runs short courses in batik techniques; further details can also be found on Helen Dougall’s website.

Helen Dougall studied fine art at Chelsea School of Art and then trained as an art teacher. She taught in London and then Suffolk for many years, pursuing her own art full-time from 1997. Helen is a member of the Batik Guild, the Suffolk Craft Society and Artworks.