‘Ropes of Light No.11’ [Oil, Pigment and Wax on Board]
Rope, light; both words suggest ideas of space and place: inside, outside; indoors, outdoors; sheltered, exposed; open, enclosed. All in all, they are also a matter of location, of situation. One might say the works which are part of
Ropes of lightare landscapes, and could move on and try to build connections and a sort of aesthetic genetics with earlier works which might have been seminal in their creation. However, this might not be so relevant and helpful, if talking of landscape is a way to say that some works are more or less valuable or respectable than others, or if bringing the idea of landscape forces an imperative necessity to identify locations, physical features and events in a figurative mode.
Although Wendy’s works feature titles with particular geographical clues and have been inspired by emotions felt in particular circumstances, this specific information might be more interesting from a documentary perspective than from an aesthetic point of view. Rather than asking the where-it-comes-from, or the who-and-what-inspired-it, both questions which – for a reason – inevitably lead to safe and reassuring answers, we might instead want to ask the what-we-can-do. If painting was edible, Wendy’s series/group/ensemble [?] would have to be slow food. Slow painting for discerning individuals sheltering from the constant and permanent visual shelling our post-modern culture induces. Slow painting, one which resists the quick skimming, the superficial glance, but needs sustained and repeated attention. For the one who takes care and pays attention, the unknown space of the image shall become a familiar place.
Ropes of lightsuggest a contradiction – apparent at least, between the thick of the rope and the thin of light. Both rope and light can be somehow light or heavy, thin or coarse, rough or soft. By chance or on purpose, all these textures make Wendy’s works in Ropes of light. Or is it that the contradiction would rather be a state of confusion? If figuration is assumed, discerning the land from the sky might prove difficult, as it can often be in various situations and places. There is also at times this unsettling thickness of the image, this granularity, which seems impenetrable, and balances at other times the smoothness of the glazing built up in the thick impasto applied under the palette knife, light and shiny. In other words, paintings resist, they open up as much as the viewer is ready to open themselves up to the work in this enduring conversation with the work no one ought to escape. We should be ready for this resistance, and reap the reward eventually.
Beyond the search in origins and the search in actual surroundings that they should evade perhaps more than any other work, what may be the most significant contribution/aspect of Wendy’s works is the search on oneself that they give an opportunity for.
Dr Guillaume Evrard (Art Historian, Edinburgh University)
Wendy Connelly – with students from ‘Portfolio’ Wales
RAW-i Studios recently had the absolute pleasure of welcoming a small group of very talented young and aspiring Artists from a number of schools in Wales. After a very successful series of workshops discovering the alchemy of the old masters and making our own paint. They came along for a morning in my studio where I shared the projects that I have on the go. From commissions through local council and sensory rooms for a hospital trust to my current body of paintings. Being an artist is often ‘highly textured’. The isolation in the studio focused on a series of work requires dedication and resilience. Working with groups and other stakeholders on bigger projects demands a collaborative approach that can mean a softening of your own ideals. Triggers and processes of starting the day in the studio. A freshly brewed coffee and a biscuit whilst walking them through my ‘rituals’, talking about the ‘triggers’ that allow you to think about your work and reflect on your progress. From my sketchbooks and boxes of tools to the myriad trials and fails, we talked of how ideas are formed, developed and realised.
As the sun rose to its zenith, the late summer heat crept across the studio filling the place with dappled light. Lunch was taken on the larch table as birds and butterflies and bugs pass on by.
Ink and Brush – RAW-i Studios Masterclasses (empowering Artists)
Playing with materials
Gestures and making marks are made with fluid movements. Holding the brush loosely at the very end allowing it to freely move across the paper. From broad, dark thick marks with drips and splatters of ink we learn the subtleties of marks from the dry brush. Picking up textures from beyond the paper and broadening our tonal ranges. Another masterclass at RAW-i Studios with several keen young Artists.
