Editions Ltd.: Elaine Preece Stanley, Painting Nature
Venue: Editions Ltd
Date(s): 8.2.19 - 30.3.19
Time(s): All Day
In 1999, Elaine studied and gained a BA at Liverpool Hope University before exhibiting in Cheshire and Liverpool galleries. Work as a part time artist came to a standstill in early 2009 to 2010 as Elaine took full time care of her daughter who was being treated for Leukeamia.
Elaine was selected for entry in a ‘Best Emerging Artist’ National competition exploring Faith and Identity in 2012. Her work was represented at The Mica Gallery in Chelsea, after which winners were announced at London’s Saatchi Gallery.
In 2013 Elaine was elected a member of The Royal Cambrian Academy Conwy, Wales. She regularly exhibits with them and participates in associated projects, such as LLAWN.
Ironically, Elaine was selected for the ING Discerning Eye competition in 2016 (which was exhibited at the Mall Galleries in London), during the same period that she was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa.
Elaine lives and paints at her studio near Liverpool. Her inspiration derives from local parks and the countryside in North Wales where she often stays with family.
Her work process involves working from sketchbooks and photography, which are,in turn, worked on in her studio. She is also a member of The Liver Sketching club in Liverpool where she regularly practices life drawing.
Elaine’s painting process varies, depending on the daily obstacles and challenges she faces, with her peripheral vision rapidly disappearing.
When painting, Elaine has difficulty viewing the canvas fully, as only her central vision is working and it is therefore difficult to control the balance of a composition.
Therefore, there is a lot of moving away from the canvas, to view it from a distance, and to figure out the next move.
Everything is much darker with RP, so lighting has to be sufficiently bright, with constant supplementary lighting needed during the generally darker winter months. Recently Elaine has been more experimental with paint on the canvas surface.. For this exhibition Elaine repeatedly returned to her local parks in Liverpool where she walks her dog, and in North wales, and Cornwall, where she regularly visits.
In these paintings, Elaine aims to express those sensations that inspired her to paint these particular scenes: The light that holds and shapes the vegetation, water and sky.
She executed these paintings with wide, mostly lateral brushstrokes, using greens and earthly reds on a dark indigo background, which is easier for Elaine to see. On her more abstract flower paintings, Elaine wanted to see how her work brought together contrasting compositions whilst revealing her interest in observation, mark making and colour.
“I am not interested in representing ‘the facts’. I want my paintings to reveal
something that works for me, something satisfying. In this body of work, I can see
how my paintings are moving from the figurative to the abstract. Experimenting with
paint and perspective, I hope to express freedom and energy on the canvas,
allowing the paint marks to be interesting in their own right.”