Ever see a painting and immediately know who the artist was, without having to look at the gallery tag or their social media handle?
Chances are that’s because the artist has developed a strong and identifiable visual language.
For me, slightly off-circular, wonky organic shapes and bright, saturated colours and transparent layers are three of the ways viewers recognize my work.
Over the past several weeks, I’ve been asked, repeatedly, to explain where my shapes come from?
What’s the underlying inspiration? And do they have any personal meaning?
As I stumbled with answers to these questions, I realized that a little journalling and self-reflection might be in order… Here’s what I discovered…
Visual language stems from life experience
Wild and rugged beaches have always been one of my favourite places to explore; my husband and I started collecting beach glass and polished stones on these outings, long before we were married. These ‘treasures’ are displayed in bowls and vases throughout our home and we can still remember the details of when and where certain pieces were collected.
Small, wonky, circular shapes evoke feelings of belonging, happiness and contentment. Perhaps that’s why they’re the shape my hand gravitates towards when I’m holding a two-inch brush…
I’ve also spent a lot of time looking at the creatures that live at the beach, both as a mother to small ‘tide pool explorers’ and during my graduate studies in fish ecology and evolution. Sea stars and urchins, molluscs and crabs, sand dollars and jellyfish, sponges and barnacles; animals whose abstracted outlines often show up in my work.
Do I set out to depict these things in my paintings?
Not at all. But life experiences often unconsciously appear as part of an artist’s visual language.
What do you see when you look at my work? Are there certain elements that make it instantly recognizable to you?
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What interesting thoughts, Tamara. Art is so mysterious. I too have lived near the Pacific Ocean for most of my life and count it as one of my greatest inspirations. Yet, the dominant shape in my own work is large horizontals, a bit Rothko-esque.
Perhaps I can sense the ocean in your work and that is why it resonates so much with me. I feel this beautiful feeling of floating when I contemplate your work and I love peering through all the floating layers to find the “bottom of the pool.”
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comments Kerry. I feel like some of my blue pieces give the impression of looking down through the depths of a tidepool too! I think that many of us respond to oceanic themes. We are, in fact, 90% water ourselves!
Your dominant shapes remind me of the horizon. Again, a universal theme that resonates with many!