Introduction and background
Sally mainly exhibits in London and was a prize winner in
the recent North Lincolnshire Open Print Exhibition. My research into Sally's
practical work concentrates on colour and techniques.
Sally was initially inspired by Albrecht Dűrer
for his subject matter and decorative style and Jaques Callot for his
expression of depth and distance. More recent inspirations include the work of
Paula Rego, Lucien Freud’s paintings for his subtle humour and “fantastic
proficiency” in oils, Shepard Fairey a contemporary poster activist in America
for his guts and morality and Robert Rauschenberg for his large-scale mixed
media combos. Sally likes to know the influences of one artist on another, but has
no real passion for one movement.
Sally approaches her work from a quite different perspective
than my other interviewees. She is predominately an intaglio printmaker and the
Renaissance print making techniques have heavily influenced her work,
particularly the introduction of tone through cross hatching/chiaroscuro and
aquatint. She has an interest in anything equine and London.
Approach and Methodology
Her main subject matter includes “perennial tabloid themes –
politics and patriotism/religion and royalty/sex and gossip/strange and exotic”.
Sally directs my attention to a particular print, a photo-litho called’
Referendum’ which reveals David Cameron in 18th century courtly dress holding a
baton for Britain in front of the London skyline, together with other symbolic
references. The pelican and chalice symbolise self sacrifice and gravity. Below
Cameron are drawings by my grandchildren and a wooden crib – these represent
the future and the unborn. The Queen peering round a door looking very worried.
Sally Beaumont, Referendum, photo-litho
Sally likes “to make a visual comment on events of our time. Humour
is important.
“I like to remind people of our heritage and often refer to
Christian symbolism. My work has always been cathartic, a fun way of surviving
this world”.
Sally seeks to incorporate colour into her prints, explaining
that etching traditionally is very much black and white – “You cannot beat
black and white for drama – look at Norman Ackroyd, but, balancing white space
and black ink in its simplicity is difficult”. However, in her opinion, “bright
colours in artwork are necessary to sell work. This has been a recent
difficulty as to how can I introduce colour”. Sally has recently introduced bright
colour, using hand colouring and batik (a process I am not as yet familiar
with).
Sally Beaumont, Basrah Arab Horse and Cattle Show, 1918 –
with hand colouring
In her print making Sally has used etching and aquatint for
many years having acquired knowledge from Michael Rothenstein and Barto dos
Santos at Middlesex University and the Slade School. She has also used the Photo-Litho
transfer technique in the last 2 years, which she says is “a fast way of collaging images together but not easy to replicate and edition”.
Sally Beaumont, an example of an equine subject with an interesting “half-finished” look and distinctive,
focused colouring
Sally works from her reaction to a visit to a place or museum.
Often, she will “just flick through books and catalogues which fire up my
imagination and take me to another place”. She does photograph situations such
as the unnecessary destruction of buildings or objects in the silver galleries
of the V and A. Any drawing observation tends to be straight onto the etching
plat as she is keen to get images printed and so tends not to make preliminary
drawings. She also works from old photos e.g. her grand-father’s photos of WW1
and images from her childhood – e.g. her father’s “Tiger Tim” annuals.
Sally says that she does not go out of her way to create
mood. “Whatever is in me reveals itself! My etchings are pretty overworked, and
decorative. The photo-lithos are fun and chaotic”.
Sally uses oil
paint for large paintings such as Marriage a la Mode, 6’6’’x2’6’’, a
combination of a Hogarth painting and Lady Lade by Stubbs. This painting was her interpretation of marriage.
Sally promotes her practice through her professional studio
and thinks that mixing with other artists and communication skills are
important. “Technology is the secret”, using social media, a good website and
Instagram and most importantly, good photos.
Summary
Summary
What impresses me most about Sally’s work is the uniqueness
of her work, both in subject matter and technique. Both are very personal to
her. She has her own very clear artistic voice, with a sense of history, memory
and social comment, sometimes in an amusing or chaotic way. I will explore some
of the practical techniques Sally uses, for instance, Batik, to introduce
colour, but her subject area is rather specialist to her.
