More About Alison…

Artist’s Statement

Self Portrait After Midnight

Self portrait After Midnight oil on canvas.

My paintings find order and meaning in the chaos of the natural world. Expressive, emotive color and movement to describe energy and physicality are two key elements in my paintings. I frequently use a nature motif, and this has roots in Jungian psychology in that it expresses an inner, symbolic landscape and narrative.

I contrast geometric order and pattern representing the ‘outer’ intellectual consciousness with realism and organic lines, drawing on the inner, emotional consciousness, and I have called this ‘organic pointillism, and often focus in on the overlooked details – the transient light effects, or a particular growth pattern on a tree – and draw attention to these, for in contemplating a single leaf, we can make as many connections as in an entire forest.

I use the motif of trees frequently in my work, a subject I have been drawn to all my life. Trees and woods have always been objects of beauty, and mystery and they are entangled in many of society’s myths and legends. They represent a lack of regulation, a certain freedom, as well as danger and threat. This intersection of archetypal myth, imagination and reality is a creative wellspring for me, in that it allows me to condense and symbolize the perceptual experience of the human mind.

After all, all perception is subjective and this fact fascinates me. Whether figurative or landscape-based, my works depict what is on the inside as a reflection of human experience: our complex, unique – and secret – inner lives.
Ultimately, inevitably, all my works of art are self-portraits.

Press and Publicity

Exhibitions & Events

2010

  • August -  MAC (Mckinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas) Members’ show
  • I was featured as one of 20 artists to watch in 2010 on twitter
  • Interview with me by Pioneer Productions
  • Artist feature on Sennelier’s website (venerable supplier of paints to the Impressionists)
  • Article about my work and me in Escape into Life, online art journal.
  • August, September 2010 ~ works accepted for a Juried exhibit at Studio2Gallery, in Austin, TX ~ “Poet Tree”, juror Tina Weitz.
  • Full-page article in the Face of Chelmsford magazine (UK).
  • May ~ Affordable Art Fair, New York. Presented by ugallery.com.
  • April ~ PAA 125 Juried Exhibition, The Arts Gallery, Plano, TX.
  • April ~ Postcards to the G8 ~ group exhibit, Ontario, Canada ~ I was featured in National Post article
  • March ~ Invited to judge the Art of Santa Monica (Elan) competition

  • Featured on the front cover The Art Guide, February 2010.
  • Invited to be key exhibitor at a group show in the UK titled ‘Contemporary Translation in Suprematism‘ ~ 30th March to 23rd April, The LLoyd Gill Gallery.
  • Group show: “Art & Toys” an invitational one-day art & music event at the Pearl @ Commerce in Dallas, featuring 12 local artists. February 20, the Pearl @ Commerce, Dallas.
  • Represented by Ugallery, a professional art gallery on the Web.
  • Accepted for Artscape at the Dallas Arboretum, March 20 to 21st
    Juried Fine Art Fair

2009

  • Established the Jardine Studio Gallery at 3810 Northwest Highway in Dallas ~ this gallery space was part of the Grand Prize for winning the Elan Art competition.
  • Elan Art contest ~ Grand Prize Winner ~ August 2009
  • Plano Art Association 41st Annual Members Show, Grand Prize Winner ~ December, 2009
  • Invitational Show: The Best of 2009, TVAA Gallery at the Downtown Gallery (December to January 2010)
  • December 11th – 12th – Art Conspiracy, Charity Art, Auction & Music Event, Dallas
  • Grandon Gallery, AZ ~ group show “Twitter 140″
  • TVAA’s Downtown Gallery, Pearl St, Dallas TX ~ curated art show “The Self Portrait: Who Are You?”
  • Featured in Poets & Artists self-portrait edition (Fall, 2009)

2008

  • 44th McKinney Art Festival ~ juried exhibition ~ prize winner

2007

  • Artists Showplace, Dallas, TX ~ juried exhibition (portrait)
  • Upstream Gallery Ninth Annual Faces Exhibition ~ juried exhibition

Biography

I grew up in Yorkshire, England, from a family of artists, professional and hobbyist. My interest in art lead to studying for four years part-time while still in High School, and later two years full-time at a college of art and design, after which my desire to see the world consumed me. I traveled around Europe before settling in London for several years and gained a BA at the University of London, where I developed my interest in philosophy of art (aesthetics), and the history of iconography & propaganda through the ages.
I moved with my family to Texas in 2003, and this enabled me to focus on my art, training myself and refining my artworks, through classes at SMU Meadows School of Art and through relentless practice, observation and study.

I began showing my work in 2008, and since winning the Grand Prize in the Art of Elan competition in 2009, I have been working full-time as an artist.

Read more about me and my life in these interviews and publications: