Author: miriamsmithers

Miriam is a contemporary oil painter. She takes inspiration for her work from looking at the human form and how we as people interact with each other, taking photographs of unstaged gestures and using these photos as reference for her work. How we see people visually, their posture, emotion, how we engage with each other or don't as the case may be. The tangle of human relationships in everyday life, chatting casually or intimately at the cáfe, waiting at the bus stop in the rain, shopping or embracing. Miriam tells a story, a fragment of their lives capturing a moment or a mood in a otherwise busy life. I initially apply a vivid wash to the canvas with acrylic paint. The preliminary drawing is done in dark acrylic paint ensuring all details are captured. The paint is applied thick impasto style with the palette knife in quick bold strokes, not worrying about covering every part of the canvas fully and letting the colour come through the painting. This adds dramatically to the atmosphere and mood of the work. Colour features predominantly. I work with a full colour palette mixing and blending as i work through the painting, creating the scene and leaving the viewer to continue the story alone...