I think to further develop I could have heads in more challenging positions / backgrounds / use colour - Have more interesting marks.

The live day was intense but I really felt like I let go and just went with it. I have tried to have this spontaneity with work I have completed on my own and whilst not quite at the same intensity I am experimenting much more. I could do blind drawings all day long and am excited to draw on a large scale. I am becoming more forgiving in my efforts too - the practice is playing without pressure. I am finding that the experience of making is just as important.

The still life exercises were good and I really enjoyed Notan especially Notan 2 (there is little pressure for the image to be understood). I have developed this with differing objects in a sketchbook - its something I can do when I don't have much time.

Perspective was a real struggle. Happy with one point perspective and more natural landscapes seem easier. All the straight lines, horizons & VP giving me a real headache. I just don't naturally see all this in an image unless its really obvious. I know there are other ways to get around this - negative spaces etc but I think these all take more time. I will have to practice for it to become more accessible.

I wanted to show this as the futile build up of tension. More of a personal reflection - The rise of anxiety, feelings of pressure building tightly and the edge reached to breaking. And for the recognition of when the tension breaks and the stillness returns that nothing has changed - what was before is again. The thoughts and feelings stealing our time.

Danaides redux – 66” x 48 oil on canvas 2022

Pakistani / American Artist born 1992

Paintings often reflect duplicity or multiplicity of the self. Her work is autobiographical focusing on themes of womanhood, trauma and desired selfhood. The paintings seem to be her trying to describe the reality of her existence – which very is personal but also universal.

I would want to know if her painting have a direction from start to finish. Does she have a plan or does it change throughout the process. The ideas or theme seem very specific are they the same at the end as they were in the beginning – do they evolve.

I just simply like the themes in her work. I am not sure I truly like the way she paints – but the work and the meaning connects to me. I find a way to understand what's going on. Her work is not vague or too complex. There is an element of subjectiveness but they don’t over complicate. Its surreal without being impossible to work out. They ask questions, challenge, make you think and help to visualise/ remind me that we all have this strange existence.

In an Abnormal Places oil and thread of canvas 30 x 20cm

British figurative painter – unsure of age.

Artist primarily figurative. Some of her work is painted with an unbearable anatomical realism and then combined with an expressive abstractness to delve into themes of psychological existence, trauma, strength  and beauty in all bodies. She often has a surreal angle and she has stated that she is painting as a form of therapy. Recently she has had medical complications surrounding pregnancies and has produced some very personal experiences on canvas and sculpture.

I would like to watch how she paints – it looks agony to me but she describe the rendering as therapy.

Her work is stunning in the least. The palette she uses to depict flesh is rich giving the figures more gravitas on the canvas – particularly when surrounded by the expanse of white. The figures and the lives they lead – emotional, physical, existential are the most important thing on the canvas – the emptiness around is not of importance. She is fascinated by the human experience and I see/feel her need to represent this – she has been describe as painting from the inside out.

The past awaiting the future / arrival of drummers – 99.5” x151” oil linen 2023

Bosnian artist 1983 – based in New Mexico

Paints diluted – out of focus figures and landscapes. Explores nostalgia memories and childhood trauma. Her compositions emerge and have a mystical atmosphere. Her paints are abstract but have blended figures within – they are misty and ethereal.

I would like to stand in front of one of her paintings and for her if possible to describe it and its meaning. I can have my take and that’s enough but to hear her story would be a treat.

What draws me in initially is the colour. The palette is exquisite. I have watched her paint and the colours aren’t pure – they are saturated and painted over which gives the effect in her oils of dilution. It isn’t thickly applied paint but the layers are there to establish the effect she wants. Her paintings can be small water colours but recently heave become large scale oil which still have the feel of water based media. She tries to paint the memories inside to represent them externally and they are beautiful.

There is no documented description of this work so it really is my interpretation and some gathered information of this painter when she has exhibited.

The figure is a self portrait of the painter and the celestial figure an external representation from the body or self. The celestial being is timeless - representing a connection to something primordial and external to what (we believe) is our everyday existence. The word nexus means connection/relationship usually to a bigger system - something more important that one thing. It is a reminder that whilst we represent our self we are not detached from this system -we are created from space and time. The figures are staring into each others eyes - "the gateway to the soul". This could represent an exchange of knowledge - communicating truths, emotions that words cannot express. The balance and symmetry play a part in the narrative. Neither figure overbearing the other - a harmony exists.

Her style of painting wouldn't be what I normally like. Her later work has become more developed and complex - she is prolific in her out put of work. The use of the paint may be a bit realistic for my own taste and the colour palette too muted. I prefer more energy - but maybe this painting just doesn't need that. If it had my preferences it may not appeal to me on the level it does.

The subject of existence and detachment can often be a frightening topic. This painting confronts the topic with tranquillity rather than anxiety. It is clearly intimate and for me its more about curiosity than fear which I appreciate. I feel its about connection - whilst we can often feel alone or adrift within, this is a reminder that we may be part of something timeless, ethereal even ancestorial.

I would be interested in her take on the painting and whether if she painted it now it would take a different direction.

Nadia Waheed | Gallery 1957

Nadia Waheed: A Strange Icarus - Exhibitions - Nicodim Gallery