More About Alison…

Artist’s Statement

Self Portrait After Midnight

Self portrait After Midnight oil on canvas.

My paintings are my reaction to being part of the natural world, a profoundly joyful and complex sensation for me. Growing up, the woods and nature were an escape for me, a place where I found privacy, protection, and a connection with the universe; they were places of peace and beauty that starkly contrasted with my ‘real’ life as a child and young adult.

I explore the triadic relationship that exists between my sense of self, of people around me, and of the environment, which gives a sense of space or enclosure and provides our frame of reference that in turn gives us a sense of reality and certainty. My works frequently walk the paths that the human sub- and unconscious mind roams when it breaches these borders, at the intersection of archetypal myth, imagination and reality.

I choose to focus 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 contemplating an entire forest. This is how a child, in its complex simplicity, sees the world.

The fact that all perception is subjective fascinates me, and is an endless source of inspiration in my work. My figurative works challenge the notion that a merely representational image can tell the viewer anything at all about the person. Rather, my works show what is on the inside: their complex, unique – and secret -  inner lives.

Ultimately, inevitably, all my works of art are self-portraits.

Exhibitions & Events

2010

  • 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

Press and Publicity
Elan Winner Press Release, 2009

Biography

I grew up in Yorkshire, England, and left as a teenager – after studying for two years full-time at a college of art and design – to travel around Europe. I settled in London for several years where I gained a Bachelor of Arts, before moving to the south coast.

I moved to Texas in 2003, and in the five years between 2003 and 2008 I focused on training myself and refining my artworks, through classes at SMU Meadows School of Art and through relentless practice, observation and study.

In 2008 I began showing and selling my work. Since August 2009, after winning the Elan prize and gaining a rent-free studio, I have been working as a full-time artist.