Last week I attended my lecturer Virginia Bodman’s art exhibition. She makes paintings that are created with a lot of detail and are large scale. Her use of colour is well explored through high key and fluorescent paints with an impasto technique. The figures in Virginia’s work create an all-female cast of characters whose dress hints a variety of meanings and possibilities. The figures are drawn from a range of historic and contemporary sources and appear in scenarios with uncertain outcomes. The figures act out obscure dramas in spaces that hint at the exotic, the domestic and the dislocated.
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The element of colour used through out this exhibition is particularly inspiring to me and my art practice. Virginia’s use of fluorescent pinks and yellows are bold and immediately catch the eye of the viewer creating the feeling of warmth. My favourite painting in this exhibition has to be Fig. 3 because it looks more realistic. I admire the way in which Virginia paints creating a lot of texture through specific brush strokes and pallet knife techniques, this is shown in Fig.1 and Fig.6. Overall I found this exhibition very interesting as it opened my eyes to the use of colour and various scales I could work on in the future.
Amber Wharton 