“I am a figurative painter and my work is largely informed by drawing and photography, either in found images or my own technically bad photos. In fact, the kind of ill-composed photos from mobile phones are particularly fruitful. Movement but more importantly emotional tension in the human figure is the subject of my work. The current series of paintings are based on the exodus of refugees from Syria and other war-torn areas. I like to create an ambiguous context for these figures so it is not immediately clear what is going on. There is also an element of personal history as I have had cause to call into question my own identity, history, and cultural background. My recent solar etchings are smaller in scale, drawing the viewer in close which calls for a more intimate connection with the subject.” - Pat Thornton
A few of Pat’s paintings and some photos from her sketchbook:
I’m aware that this is a longer episode but I didn’t want to cut it. If you have time, listen to it as a whole or in chunks of random three/five minutes and I promise that wherever you “drop the needle” will spark inspiration because Pat is, well, all-around fabulous! I love everything about Sketchbook/Notebook apart from the sound of my voice. Ho hum.
Happy writing everyone x
Sketchbook/Notebook: