Some of the works in this series, such as Heretofore, were a visual exploration of images of women in pre-history. In my May 2020 blog, I compare the role of women in Neolithic and contemporary eras, especially with regard to religion. In paintings like Heretofore, I have imagined, in a visual sense and as much as  is possible, how artists in pre-historic cultures viewed themselves, their world and their art. In some of my blogs I have compared their world-view with contemporary ideas about progress in art and the Avant Garde. For example, please visit my April 2020 blog.

Works such as Heretofore are also experiments with form; using techniques that draw attention to the process and materials used in creating them and are not part of the realist tradition. I seek to negotiate a middle path between aesthetic appeal and sterile abstraction; between the grip of the past and newness for its own sake. So while my current work has a conceptual motivation, I also want to communicate the joy of colours, lines and forms depicted in oil paint – to communicate at a visceral rather than an intellectual level.

No frame is needed for Heretofore & it is ready to hang.

The post Heretofore first appeared on Marion-Lea Jamieson, Artist.