Mandy Payne (b.1964)
I came across the artist Mandy Payne due to her use of concrete for the base upon which she paints many of her paintings. She is a painter/printmaker who is inspired by the urban landscape. Her main interest is social housing, regeneration and changing city environments. I think that it is an inspired choice to use concrete for her paintings as it is the foundation of the buildings in her work and is a metaphor for the housing she depicts. It made me think how I could bring relevant materials into my drawings, prints and paintings.
For a number of years Mandy Payne has been exploring Park Hill, a Grade II listed Sheffield council estate and an example of Brutalist architecture on a grand scale. The site resonates with me as I attended Sheffield University and got to know the city well over the three years that I was there. It stands proudly on one of the hills which dominate Sheffield. Part of the estate is now being converted to luxury flats, but much of it is now boarded up and derelict.
As well as working on concrete, Mandy Payne brings another element of modern day city living into her work, in that she uses spray paint. The spray paint references graffiti and she has concrete cast into small "canvases" to work on directly. The work is built up in layers, creating flat areas of colour and then she uses oil paint for the final details.
Mandy Payne, Everything of Value
Although Mandy Payne does not feature the natural environment much in her images - probably because there is not much about - sometimes a solitary trees appears. The lack of plants and vegetation adds to the starkness of her images. When a plant or tree does feature, I think that it emphasises the lack of natural habitat and the "brutal" nature of the environment. Payne works with locations that are often neglected or abandoned and that aspect also features in my work and thoughts of things "left behind".
Mandy Payne, Stone Lithograph
Relevance to my work
I have thought about how I could make associations between the use of materials and my subject matter and interests. some of my current ideas include:
- use of water from the estuary/river to mix with paint or to soak my printing paper in
- mud from the river bank to mix with paint or to make my own pigments
- pieces of "found" concrete/abandoned objects upon which I could draw or paint
- the use of "found" objects to make collages or collagraphs
I intend to explore and experiment with some of these ideas.
I intend to explore and experiment with some of these ideas.
No comments:
Post a Comment