Hello friends,
Welcome to my quarterly newsletter. I hope that you are keeping safe and well in these strange times. For me, being able to focus on my art is very helpful while the global pandemic continues, and I hope that you are also finding ways to look after yourselves.
What's On My Easel…
Say hello to Clara:
Over the next few weeks I will gradually be sharing the in progress photos of this painting on Instagram, (please follow me over there if you aren’t already!), but as a subscriber to my newsletter, you get to see the finished piece first! As you can probably tell, Clara is based on Clarice Cliff’s pottery and embellished with gold leaf.
Next up on my easel is ‘Rose’. She is also completed, and is based on the ‘Old Country Roses’ pattern from Royal Albert. What do you think?
What's On My Mind....
'Clara' and 'Rose' pictured above are the first two paintings in my new series, titled “Overcome”. The series explores how life ‘breaks’ us all, through the ancient Japanese art and philosophy of ‘Kintsugi’ - mending broken pottery with gold. The series will depict five women made of china, who are all proudly showing their scars with strength and gilded beauty.
For centuries, gold leaf has been used in art to elevate the subject - from the stunning backgrounds and intricate work of Klimt, right back to the earliest iconography of religious figures and their divine halos. Gold work serves to add value, making the subject more precious and powerful.
I hope to convey their strength through direct gazes with the viewer, and inspire you to know that we can be strong and worthy, celebrate our flaws and embrace the traumatic events of life that make us more resilient. We are worth fixing!
Quarterly Questions....
This newsletter, instead of answering some of your quarterly questions, I thought you might like to read an interview I did with a very good friend of mine Sophie. Sophie has a website called The Weird Nucleus featuring “Interviews with my favourite comedians and other distractions.” (Does that make me a distraction?!) Sophie kindly asked to interview me, so to read my answers to some interesting questions about me and my art, head on over to her website: HERE. (https://www.theweirdnucleus.com/post/gemma-beynon)
I will continue to answer more Quarterly Questions next time, so please email me any questions about my art you’d like answered for my next newsletter - are you curious about the inspiration for a painting? Wondering what medium I use or what my studio set up is like? You can hit reply or email admin@gemmabeynon.com
And Finally…
You may be wondering about the title of my email this quarter - “It’s a personal fog machine”. I am of course referring to my mask - which is an homage to Magritte, a political statement, and when I wear it with my glasses, a personal fog machine.
Until next time,
Gemma