Isabelle Bryan

Freedom, Eden, Utopia

Painting - BA (Hons)

School of Art

izybryan13@gmail.com

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Isabelle Bryan _ Artist statement with images 2021 degree show .pdf (1010.24 KB)

Floating is a mixed media painting that looks into the world I have crated as an escapism from covid. The forms originate from a study of the female form and feminine motifs such a flowers and colours associated with femininity such as pink.

Floating, oil paint, acrylic paint and drawing ink on canvas, 200 x 150 cm, April 2021.

Skills & Experience

Semester abroad in Budapest as part of the erasmus program, studying life drawing and painting at The Hungarian University of Fine Art.
Exhibited work at The Silo Gallery in Winchester
Member of the collaborative project Counter Poise
Art director for Men Too the musical https://www.instagram.com/mentoothemusical/

Artist bio

My work is about mark making, energy and movement. I have used the exploration of the female form as a way to translate these processes and create work that is situational and reflects my guestual and fluid style in both drawing and painting. My work has evolved from a more literal depiction of the female form throughout this project, to a more abstract form that focuses on line, shape and colour composition creating a sense of uncertain recognition. This is something I want to develop further, focusing on the processes of making as part of the art piece.

My interest in using words and calligraphy has stemmed from a desire for structure and a sense of logic, as well as making the work more immediate to my thought pattern, ideas are directly transcribed to the page or canvas. The incorporation of words has allowed me to communicate thoughts and emotions related to my time in isolation and experiences of being a young woman. I like the fact that the words are not clear. Recognising the odd word and its meaning in relation to the image creates a layer of viewer participation and interpretation.

This image shows a collage of my painting with photos of friends.

happy easter livi and frank, digital collage, 2021

Livid

This image combines a simple drawing with a detailed photograph. I love the contrast of imagery as well as the reflected use of pink in both the paint and the dress. I feel like this image conveys movement and energy through the pose of the body and the expression on her face. The constant stream of text in the back ground also create a sense of movement which I really like.

Photoshop has enabled me to create collages that combine my sketches with photography. I love the effect it creates and the way the drawings react with the photos.

Livi in pink, digital collage, April 2021.

Freedom, Eden, Utopia

This painting gave me a starting point when coming up with a concept for this body of work. It has a slower pace than some of my other works, yet it still encapsulates the energy and movement I have been working to attain within my work, with its fluid ink strokes. I love the colour pallet in this piece, making it seem soft and dreamlike.

This piece looks at some imagined forms in an imagined world. They remind me of nymphs or temptresses, and the world they inhabit makes me think of some sort of paradise. The fast and fluid ink and brush strokes makes this piece feel light and airy which I really like.

Eden, Freedom, Utopia, drawing ink, oil and acrylic paint on canvas, 95 x 150 cm, January 2021

Marigolds

Marigolds is an installation I created in November 2020. Having made a series of screen prints that focus on the female form, I wanted to see how the space around the print could impact the way you interpreted it. By placing the print in my kitchen, above the radiator and adorned with a tea towel and a pair of marigolds, the image conveys a strong sense of the domestic. This partnered with an image of a pink, naked female torso crates a number of associations for people to think up for themselves.

This is an installation piece I created with a series of prints, made in the first semester. The positioning of the naked female form above a radiator draped with a tea towel and a pair of marigolds aims to discuss where a woman's role is in society. The piece was inspired by an investigation into the genderization of the colour pink, which occurred during the 50's. Distinct gender roles were promoted during the 50's, promoting a woman's place to be in the domestic sphere.

Marigolds, screen print installation, 59 x 84 cm, November 2020

The colour pink has provoked an interest for me due to its connotations with being "girly".

Pink girl in lockdown, ink pen, oil pastel, acrylic paint on paper, 42 x 59 cm, March 2021

The female form has played a large role in my work, this piece looks to celebrate the female form through bright colour and movement.

Golden Dancing Primavera, water colour and ink pen on paper, 59 x 84 cm, February 2021

Eden is a water colour piece on paper, details drawn with ink pen. i love this piece because of its sporadic detail and undulating brush strokes.

Eden, watercolour on paper, 42 x 59 cm, March 2021

Freedom, Eden, Utopia

This piece incorporates my exploration of words as a means of creating detail and structure within my work. The figures are simple and transparent which allows them to float in the scene.

The incorporation of text to this piece is interesting because it creates a layer of detail and a change in pace. This painting looks to encapsuale a sense of dance and movement, if not through the figures, through the words that surround them.

Freedom, Eden, Utopia pt.2, drawing ink and acrylic paint on canvas, 95 x 150 cm, February 2021

Golden Words in the Wind

Digital collages have allowed me to mix my sketches together and to create more textured and layered pieces.

This image is a digital collage, created using photoshop. During covid I was able to create an array of small sketches and paintings, which I was able develop further by using Photoshop. I love the colours and depth of this piece and the overlapping quality. the piece looks to explore the way text can be used as a means of drawing and mark making, as well as looking at the female form and feminine motifs.

Golden words in the wind, ink drawings made into digital collage, April 2021.

Dancing

Dancing pt 2. is an example of the sketches I have made when listening to music, allowing thoughts and random lyrics to be mindlessly scrawled as a way of creating texture. By doing this I was able to create work that was situational and relevant to my direct thought pattern.

Dancing pt.2, water colour and ink pen on paper, 21 x 30 cm, January 2021.

digital collage, 2021

This image combines my drawings and photos. I wanted to create work that was energetic and colourful, reflecting pent up energy from lockdown.

Belle's friend dancing, digital collage, 2021

Dancing with Livi

I like the combination of the hectic more abstract drawing as a backdrop for photos. This image is about crowded spaces, I wanted to create a sense of hedonism.

livi and me, digital collage, 2021

female looks at the simple lines of the female form, i like working with ink pen because of the delicacy and scratchy quality it crates. This contrasted with the bright and thick blue line of the oil pastel makes the shape of the form more abstract.

female, acrylic paint, ink pen, oil pastel on paper, 42 x 59 cm, March 2021

Project description

Counter Poise is the collaborative zine that I created along with four other members of ECA. The zine looks to explore the links between our individual practices, through themes such as femininity, fast fashion and the domestic space.