Rebecca Grant: Artist statement
My paintings aim to celebrate beauty, colour, vibrancy and truth eliciting a sense of upliftment, stability, freedom and empowerment for myself and the viewer. I find painting is like a process, a journey of self discovery unravelling the different layers of my mind as I lay them down thick or thin with paint on the canvas.
My journey contains a gamut of emotions creating and constructing what Mankind is trying to do against the powerful landscape of Mother Nature. I like to paint images of how Man survives as him/herself, in groups, with nature and spiritually and in its most ideal form. But in the same breath I just adore playing with drama, theatre and giving my work a big dose of magic. My work marries these ideal and magical elements together, and then humanises them by utilising earthy colours with a cubist constructive technique inspired by my grandfather's work.
This is where the connection between my painting and the viewer is made, for man to understand mankind in a better light, and to experience for a moment what is possible…
Past
I have always had a spiritual outlook on life and as a close relative once said ‘I was always LOOKING OUTWARDS from an early age. Having a near death experience in hospital aged 16 questioned my beliefs in what we might be and what exactly is ‘the spirit’ and it is no surprise that post coma I went through a stage of painting numerous angels and having a spiritual outlook that we might not meat bodies alone. Again I aim to convey this sense of the possibility and discovery of ‘there being more’ in my work.
My first purpose in life from a very early age was to be an animator. I soon found out that I was able to make others happy and uplifted through dance, song and acting. I continued to pursue a lifelong career in acting and was fortunate enough to star in many West End shows such as the vibrant musical Bombay Dreams and numerous tv dramas such as BBC’s Holby City and Marvel’s Lucky Man.
This ‘other’ career, if anything, reinforced my passion for painting as there is much theatre, playfulness and drama in my work. One should almost hear the captain hollering at the crew in my Set Sail Collection ‘All hands on deck!’ and other such maritime phrases.
Current work & technique
In my Set Sail Collection I create a background of abstract concepts and tones by using very bold brushstrokes, gold leaf and acrylic pouring paint. Upon this comes the impressionism, illustration and cubism all utilised to construct the yacht, the people and general drama between the crew. The result is beautiful and colourful ocean art.
Again bringing the Majestical and Mankind themes together. Some of these paintings also contain real gold and silver leaf, crushed Mother of Pearl and original Lapis Lazuli.
My Yellow Brick Road Collection is a growing collection of work beginning aged 16 with ‘21st Century Britain’ which was selected for The Young Artists Award. The Yellow Brick Road tells us of the sometimes stuck journey we are whipped into this lifetime, the range of accepted influences, the life we are at times sold and the possibility of ‘stepping off’. ‘Time is Ticking’ is a reflection of the past 2 years. The full collection will be 10 pieces in total.
Featured art collections
SET SAIL COLLECTION
THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD COLLECTION