The travelling series continues and takes us into psychological landscapes. It is inescapable, as I stand at my easel and the news of the war in Ukraine plays in the background. I chose war symbols and hues from the past to construct this narrative. Again my palette is subdued with earthy tones of yellows and green. The child figure looks directly at something, perhaps you the viewer, with an ambiguous expression open to your interpretation and awaiting your finishing touches. There is a minimalist approach to the inclusion of the elements for each must have not only narrative significance but be visually compelling and enhance the composition. Paring down to the essential symbols is sometimes difficult as I let go of particularly beautiful images that do not contribute to the narrative. This too is true of the need to resist the impulse to keep rendering the details, for each tiny brushstroke moves me closer to a camera snapshot rather than an imaginary scene imbued with a dream-like quality. So with each painting in this series I am getting closer to “the heart of the matter”.
Tracy Quinsey Art 