Rosemary Tolkien - Artist statement

I have worked as a practicing artist since graduating in Fine Art in 2009. Since then, I have lived in Stamford, Lincolnshire, and more recently, Uppingham in Rutland. My paintings very much reflect what I see around me which inspires me to try to elevate the everyday into designs for paintings. Most of my work has been inspired by the architecture of the towns in which I work, shop and live, but I also enjoy the more organic forms of the living world, from gardens to trees.

My work is largely 2D and consists of architectural paintings and botanical studies in various media. In my architectural paintings I am attempting to synthesize what I see into their “significant forms” so that my work, although being very neo- realist in character takes on elements of formalism. My interest in cubism, after studying the work of Picasso, has also resulted in experimentation with faceted images, often known as rayonism.

My fascination with architecture is probably the result of an urban childhood in south London where houses and streets were the landscapes of my daily walks to school and where, as I grew into a teenager, my weekend exercise was shopping in newly built town centres. Green spaces were regulated gardens or commons where the horizon was broken by nearby Edwardian terraces and council flats. Now when I see a terrace of solidly built houses or the regular patterns of rows of windows and balconies, I want to record their symmetrical patterns which give me a feeling of solidity and security that no doubt stems back to those early safe and happy days.

Another pre-occupation of mine is light, particularly the light of strong sunshine and the shadows it creates. Recent holidays have provided me with some wonderful material; buildings glowing in the strong sunshine, showing off their cleverly designed colours against azure skies. I get the same thrill from reflected light on local windows and some of my paintings include these, best captured on sunny winter days or late summer afternoons, when the low sun turns them into mirrors of the immediate vicinity.

My main consuming passion, however, is colour and design. I have always been seduced by gorgeous fabrics in wonderful rich colours and have devoted long hours to making curtains and cushions for the many homes I have lived in over the years. I had a passion for William Morris fabrics when younger and am probably influenced very much by his colour sense and symmetry, finding that I often want to re-create a flat print-like quality in my paintings which are often mainly about shape and colour. Other artists and designers that have influenced me include Patrick Caulfield with his posterised depictions of interior and exterior architecture, and Picasso whose work has fuelled my interest in cubism which has led me to experiment with faceted images. I remain fascinated, however, by the creativity of the early Modernist artists of the early twentieth century when Cubism turned perceptions of art on its head and exciting new movements developed as a result including the Vortists in England and the later Precisionists in America. Much of the art that inspires me today can trace its roots to that time including the American Photorealist movement of the ‘70s and its more recent post modern revival.

Many of my paintings concentrate on the colour and shape of buildings using strong shadows to create depth. For these works I use acrylic paint or, more recently, household emulsion paint, applied in several coats to give flat, opaque colour that adds to the solidity of the images.

My aim in creating these architectural scenes is to try to simplify or synthesize the world around me. I do not want the viewer of my work to have to struggle with hidden concepts but rather enjoy the image as an immediately aesthetically pleasing experience that somehow draws attention to the ordinary and familiar turning them from solid imposing landscape features to attractive designs. To me, a carefully executed picture of a building can be just as visually satisfying as a painted landscape of outstanding natural beauty. The quality of seasonal light, the sharp shadows cast by buildings on a sunny day and the patterns of light and colour in the natural world of our gardens and parks: by drawing attention to these in my work I hope to invite us to ‘look around’ more closely at our surroundings.

Rosemary Tolkien