Puppets

Ok, I know, people find puppets scary, but at least there is a definite reaction when looking at the artwork! I have used the vintage Pelham puppets well known from my childhood and have started drawing the puppets.

I wanted there to be a dialogue between the puppets in the image but also to convey moods and emotions that are not so easily expressed.
Watch a child talk to a puppet and you will see that they do communicate quite well, try to forget all the horror movies with dolls and marionettes in..if you can!

These paintings have been quite labour intensive as I have built up layers of vintage fabrics using a wax capture technique. I have first prepared the substrate by using collected embroidered tablecloths and other fabrics and have bonded them together with wax capture. Just using finely grated wax with an iron.

I have enjoyed building up the layers to create a dialogue and symbolism of the layering of memory and  emotions from childhood.

These surfaces are then developed with an oil painting.
I love the texture and the feel of the oil paint on the waxy surface and have been enjoying collecting 70's style fabrics to embellish the theme of layers of buried memory.

Oil on canvas

With the canvas paintings I was looking to create a dialogue between the two puppets and worked in a more straightforward way with oil on canvas.

I was more outside of my comfort zone here as I usually work onto textured surfaces and so it was more crucial to create the surface texture I wanted visually with the paint.

I get very mixed reactions to this one as it is quite big.