Artist statement
My painting and drawing practice focuses on editing ‘reality’, specifically moments of the ‘everyday’ where a feeling of disconnect appears. Alienation within the familiar is something insidious and universal yet unspoken, I express this through figurative art and portraiture.
Initially, the process involves documenting and collecting images of the people and the spaces that are close to me. In the process of painting and drawing, I edit elements. I have discovered that emphasizing elements within the composition, a certain colour or an attribute that the figure possesses will produce a ‘jarring’ factor. An awkwardness in its reading or a feeling of heaviness and this intervention can distance the subject from the viewer. This visual interference introduces a tension, a feeling of separation, and alienation from the faces and places that are familiar. The distorted figures reflect the discomfort of the viewer, as they appear unsettled within the overall composition, disconcerted.
Painters such as Caroline Walker and Dan Witz influence my work in how they create a new perceived ‘reality’ within their paintings. Cinema impacts how I compose my paintings and alter ‘reality’ to create narrative. In his film, Dogtooth director Yorgos Lanthimos creates an altered sense of ‘reality’, a state of being that makes his work unsettling, something I try to do in my own works. How we depict people comes from an interest in being connected to them, empathizing whilst remaining detached as the artist. The arbiter of what to portray and how to portray the subject.
I want the viewer to empathize with the scene of the painting while feeling alienated from the subjects. Ultimately, the viewer intrudes in this perceived ‘reality’ and may find comfort in the fact that others feel the same.
Final Paintings
‘Strained’. 16” x 12”. Acrylic on Canvas Board. April 2020. 
‘Witch Hunt’. 40” x 31. 5”. Acrylic on Canvas. March 2020. 
‘Post-Graduate Job Search’. 16” x 12”. Acrylic on Canvas Board. September 2019. 
‘The Garden’. 30” x 24”. Acrylic on Canvas. February 2020. 
‘Boys Night’. 24” x 36”. Acrylic on panel. December 2019. 
‘Stretching’. 16” x 12”. Acrylic on Canvas Board. September 2019. 
‘Luxury’. 24” x 30”. Acrylic on board. August 2020.
Drawings
‘Him (Amplified).’ 36 x 27 cm. acrylic and colored pencil on paper with frame. July 2019. 
‘Me (Distorted).’ 36 x 27. colored pencil on paper with painted frame. July 2019. 
‘Flash’. In 20 x 23 cm sketchbook (2 pages). colored pencil on toned paper. September 2019. 
‘Foot Study’. In
A4 sketchbook. colored pencil on paper. September 2019.
‘James Mcneill Whistler Study of drawing of Walter Sickert’ in 20 x 23 cm sketchbook. Colored pencil on toned paper. September 2019. 
‘Michealangelo’s David Study’ In A4 sketchbook. Colored pencil and pencil on paper. September 2019. 
‘Smoke’. In A4 sketchbook (10 x 10 cm). colored pencil on paper. October 2019. 
‘Snakes on Planes’. In 20 x 23 cm sketchbook. colored pencil on toned paper. November 2019. 
‘Big Ear Study’. In A4 sketchbook. Colored pencil and pencil on paper. November 2019. 
‘Drawings from life 2’. In A4 sketchbook. Colored pencil and pencil on paper. November 2019. 
‘Singer Sargent Study of Study of Mme Gautreau’. In 23 x 20 cm sketchbook. Pencil on toned paper. December 2019 
‘Max Fabian Study of 1914 Man Study’. In A4 sketcbook. Colored pencil on paper. December 2019. 
‘Tom with Sieve on Head’. In A4 sketchbook. Pencil on paper. December 2019. 
‘Studio’. 19 x 30 cm. water soluble pencil on watercolor paper. January 2020. 
‘Life Drawing 10 mins’. In 20 x 23 cm sketchbook. Colored pencil and pencil on toned paper. January 2020. 
‘Drawings from life’ In A4 sketchbook. (THE DRAWING ON THE BOTTOM IS FROM BEFORE THE MARKING PERIOD) Pencil and pen on paper. January 2020 
‘Rachel Distortion Study’. In A4 sketchbook. Colored pencil on paper. January 2020. 
‘Tom Distortion Study’. In A4 sketchbook. Colored pencil on paper. January 2020. 
‘Vice’. 21 x 30 cm. colored pencil on toned paper. February 2020. 
‘Distortion study’. In A4 sketchbook. colored pencil on paper. February 2020. 
‘Distortion study 2′. In A4 sketchbook’. colored pencil on paper. February 2020. 
‘Oscar’. 30 x 21 cm. colored pencil on toned paper. February 2020. 
‘Life Drawing: body as metaphor – light’. In 20 x 23 cm sketchbook. Colored pencil on toned paper. February 2020. 
‘Corner of my room tonal study’. In 20 x 23 cm sketchbook. Colored pencil and pencil on paper. February 2020. 
‘Messy Distortion Sketch’. In 20 x 23 cm sketchbook. Colored pencil on toned paper. February 2020. 
‘Tom Tonal Study 1’. In A4 sketchbook. Pencil on paper. February 2020. 
‘Katie and Rachel Study’. In A4 sketchbook (10 x 10 cm). Colored pencil on paper. February 2020. 
Ruprecht Von Kaufmann Inspired Life Drawing – 20 mins’. In 20 x 23 cm sketchbook. Colored pencil on toned paper.
February 2020.
‘Sleeping on the Tube’. In A4 sketchbook. colored pencil on paper. March 2020. 
‘Arnando Ferraz Study’. In A4 sketchbook. Colored pencil on paper. March 2020. 
‘Zeena in the studio’ 21 x 30 cm. Colored pencil on toned paper. March 2020. 
‘Facetime painting: from Life’. In 20 x 23 cm sketchbook. Colored pencil and pencil on toned paper. March 2020. 
‘Different Drum’. In 20 x 23 cm sketchbook. Colored pencil and pencil in toned sketchbook. March 2020. 
‘Purple Light/ Tonal Study’. In A4 sketchbook. Pencil on paper. April 2020. 
‘Tom Tonal Study 2’. In A4 sketchbook. Pencil on paper. April 2020. 
‘Walter Sickert ‘Ennui’ Study’. In 20 x 23 cm sketchbook. Colored pencil on toned paper. April 2020. 
‘Man on Tube’. In 20 x 23 cm sketchbook. Colored pencil on toned paper. May 2020. 
‘Henry Drop-Shadow’. In A4 sketchbook. Colored pencil on paper. May 2020. 
‘Unorthodox sketch’. In 20 x 23 cm sketchbook. Colored pencil on toned paper. May 2020. 
‘Loud sketch’. In 20 x 23 cm sketchbook. Colored pencil on toned paper. May 2020. 
‘Floating Head Sketch’. In 20 x 23 cm sketchbook. Colored pencil on toned paper. May 2020. 
‘Bette Draper from Mad Men – tonal study’. In 20 x 23 cm sketchbook. Colored pencil and pencil on toned paper. June 2020.
Sketchbook Paintings and Studies
Acrylic in sketchbook. 7” x 10”. November 2019. 
Acrylic in sketchbook. 7” x 5”. On black ground. November 2019. 
Acrylic in sketchbook. 7” x 5”. On orange/pink ground. November 2019. 
faces up close have a lot of distortion from being photographed. 7”x 5”. Acrylic in sketchbook. November 2019. 
Katie and Rachel in an Uber. 5” x 7”. Acrylic in sketchbook. December 2019. 
Still from ‘Parasite’. needing more cinema and narrative in my work. 5” x 7”. Acrylic in Sketchbook. January 2020. 
playing with leaving the image half painted. Acrylic and colored pencil in sketchbook. 7” x 5”. January 2020. 
Alex at the Leather Bottle. 7” x 5”. Acrylic in sketchbook. January 2020. 
Acrylic in sketchbook. 7” x 5”. On purple ground. February 2020. 
distortion attempt. Acrylic in sketchbook. 7” x 5”. On black ground. February 2020. 
Acrylic in sketchbook. 5” x 7”. On green ground. February 2020. 
Acrylic in sketchbook. 7” x 5”. On grey ground. looking more into pattern. February 2020. 
Mark Tennant Inspired. leaving more ground exposed. 7” x 5”. on teal ground. Acrylic in sketchbook. February 2020. 
Rachel in our house. 7” x 5”. Acrylic in sketchbook. On pink ground. February 2020. 
Zorn palette attempt two. Acrylic in sketchbook. 7” x 5”. On blue ground (Cheating I know). March 2020. 
Trying slightly more expressive. Acrylic in sketchbook. 7” x 5”. on pink/orange ground. March 2020. 
Zorn Palette first attempt. Acrylic in sketchbook. 7” x 5”. I didn’t even put a layer of gesso or white acrylic down so the paper absorbed a lot of the paint and dried extremely quickly. March 2020. 
Quarantine house from life. 5” x 7”. Acrylic in sketchbook. April 2020.
Distortion – Examples
Trying slightly more expressive. Acrylic in sketchbook. 7” x 5”. on pink/orange ground. March 2020. 
Tom Tonal Study 1. In A4 sketchbook. Pencil on paper. February 2020. 
Focusing on Luminosity. Acrylic in sketchbook. 7” x 5”. On red/orange background. May 2020.
Works in progress
This was a painting I began working on in the studio, it was the biggest one to date. I was quite excited about it but given that it is not placed in my own house, where I am isolating, it would’ve been difficult to complete even if i had the space to finish it at my house. Began March 2020. 
This is a painting that I always plan to go back to however there is something that I like about it’s unfinished state. Began August 2019. 
Another older work that I have not yet brought myself to finish. Began November 2019. 
New painting based on Walter Sickert’s ‘Ennui’. It is mostly done in the ZORN Palette. 24” x 36”. Painting within my home. Began April 2020. 
Composition sketch of a painting set in the upstairs bathroom of my house. Inspired by ‘The Lighthouse’ and trying to incorporate more pattern. Self-portrait. In A4 sketchbook. Colored pencil on paper. Began June 2020.
Elise Wallbridge 