PAULA WHITBREAD-ROBERTS
ARTIST
WORK CURRENTLY SHOWING AT THE FOLLOWING GALLERIES
NEWLYN SOCIETY OF ARTISTS - WEST CORNWALL
www.nsanewlyn.com
WAVE7 GALLERY - WADEBRIDGE, CORNWALL
www.wave7gallery.com
PENWITH SOCIETY OF ARTISTS - WEST CORNWALL
(Associate member)
www.penwithgallery.com
2023 NSA St. Clare Medical Centre Penzance. mixed show
2023 Newlyn Society Showcase - Tremenheere Gallery mixed show
2024 NSA St. Clare Medical Centre Penzance. mixed show
2024 Continuum. The Poly Falmouth. Group of four Artists.
2024 Where the Line Breaks NSA Tremenheere Gallery mixed show
As an artist my inspiration is drawn from many sources with particular reference to water, landscape, pattern and texture. Subject matter is influenced through thoughts and reflections. Wakefulness is eased by a desire to read widely, fuelling my imagination. Regular, almost daily swims allow me to concentrate my thought processes whilst in a state of peaceful respite.
Paintings evolve through reflections on the passage of time and life's experiences with specific visualisation and thought processes gathered whilst swimming, both in the sea and in pools. Journeys I have taken and lucid dreams through a state of semi-insomnia summon the senses and imagination which play a distinct role throughout my work.
Swimming in a pool I find rather more intense than the sea and I am able to completely disengage from everything else around me focusing on the heightened colours, light, shapes and reflections that I’m emersed in. The sea, I experience a far more spiritual sensation, which I endeavour to give a sense of, through my paintings. To me the ocean is far more exhilarating, being exposed to the elements and sudden changes, observing beautiful cloud formations and the iridescent colours of the salt water. The whole experience is quite mesmeric, a feeling of utter freedom but also a conscious sense of the unknown, evokes a distinct awareness of solitude.
I strive to create a visual portrayal, drawn partly from evidential research, but also which is highly embellished and emotionally charged by my own heightened awareness. Broadly speaking my paintings are driven by a narrative theme, exploring the drama of emotionally charged personaI experiences. I am drawn to the ever-changing patterns of form, surface texture, subtle colour and atmospheric fluctuations, revealing signs of lingering silence with the residue of human presence and where shafts of light and fleeting shadows evoke the elusiveness of time.
The art of observing and creating stems from being born into a talented family of photographers, crafts people and architects and being encouraged to follow my desire to train as an Artist.
Prior to becoming a full-time practising artist, I enjoyed a long career as a lecturer and Course Leader on a Foundation Diploma Art Design and Media course. Being part of a highly skilful and enthusiastic team of other artists/designers was very rewarding.
02 portfolio
Current works are based on flowers with their power to flirt and play with our imagination; a silent link to the lives of those who indulge with them.
Intoxicating in their beauty, shimmering with narcissistic pride, glorious and mysterious as they dramatically fade away. Flowers are exquisite creations that seem to reflect many human emotions along with the ever changing patterns of life. Exotic and beguiling, each holds an array of thoughts and meanings for each of us, as individuals. The flower as a motif has all kinds of evocative significance, allowing the viewer/voyeur to create or interpret their own narratives. There is a sort of watchfulness about flowers which fascinates me, a conspiratorial comfort of having them around, a quiet, mindful communication.
A magical energy transcends, a type of solipsistic quality and one which to me heightens uncertainty, holding my attention. There is a trickery of interpretation, a vaporous notion of vague reality, with their hypnotic scent; a sense of ‘dangereux’. I want to capture their essence, their movement, the sensuality of their very existence.
Sexual reproduction in humans and plants has fascinated botanists for centuries with their remarkable similarities, ‘Male’ and ‘Female’ and concepts of ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ as symbols of fertility and seduction. Although plant biologies and life histories differ greatly from humans many of the sexual parts and reproductive terminology is the same.
This series of paintings endeavour to show the blurring and ambiguous interpretation of this through visual means. Whilst observations relate directly to flowers, the intricacies of their delicate parts can clearly take on a version of human genitalia to the viewer. Through intensely studying various exotic specimens of Orchids, Iris’s, Tulips etc. I am intrigued by their flamboyant, colours and patterned beauty created specifically to attract pollination and procreation of their species. Here the crossover with human desire and eroticism is explored through zooming in intensely to an enigmatic focal point whilst remaining true to the highly saturated colours and patterns of the flowers.
03 Exhibitions
2023 Summer Exhibition- Penwith Gallery
Mixed show
2023 'Engage' NSA - Tremenheere Gallery
Mixed Spring show
2022 'The Map Is Not The Territory' - Tremenheere Gallery
Mixed show
2022 'Memory' - NSA- Tremenheere Gallery
Mixed show
2021 'Past, Present, Future' - NSA - Tremenheere Gallery
Mixed show
2021 'Looking Forward' - Tremenheere Gallery
Mixed show
2021 'Sanguine' - Jupiter Gallery Newlyn
One person show
2020 'Edge of Dark' NSA- Tremenheere Gallery
Mixed show
2019 'Elemental' NSA - Tremenheere Gallery
Four person show
2019 'Ex Libris' NSA- Tremenheere Gallery
Mixed show
2018 'On View' NSA - Tremenheere Gallery
Mixed show
2018 'Drawing Explored' NSA - Tremenheere Gallery
Mixed show
2017 'Critics Choice' NSA- Tremenheere Gallery
Mixed show
2017 'Borders' NSA - Tremenheere Gallery
Mixed show
My latest series- Flowers
Flowers. Intoxicating in their beauty, shimmering with narcissistic pride, glorious and mysterious as they dramatically fade away.
Flowers are exquisite creations that seem to reflect many human emotions along with the ever changing patterns of life.
Exotic and beguiling, each holds an array of thoughts and meanings for each of us as individuals: symbolic though birth, death, marriage, romance, joy, fear, intrigue, passion, memento mori., desire or purely aestheticism.
The flower as a motif has all kinds of evocative significance, allowing the viewer/voyeur to create or interpret their own narratives. There is a sort of watchfulness about them which fascinates me, a conspiratorial comfort of having them around, a quiet, mindful communication. They wait, observing, resplendent in their daily transformations.
They have a dream-like aura, a poetic resonance as they gradually twist and shift away in their shrivelled glory, breathing their last breath. “And tis’ my faith that every flower enjoys the air it breathes” - Wordsworth .
A magical energy transcends, a type of solipsistic quality and one which to me heightens uncertainty, holding my attention. There is a trickery of interpretation, a vaporous notion of vague reality, with their hypnotic scent; a sense of ‘dangereux’ which has engaged my attention for this current series of paintings.
I want to capture their essence, their movement, the sensuality of their very existence. Each painting has evolved with particular links on a personal level. ‘Pretties’ being my first spoken word as a child, beginning with the tulips, but most works relate more specifically to the intriguing, colourful life of my late mother and leading eventually towards a calm transcendence.
The paintings evolve along with my thought processes, allowing the paint to speak and flow and my senses to drift. Flowers seem to have the power to flirt, to dance, to play with our imagination; a silent link to the lives of those who indulge with them.
***
Edge of Dark brief
NSA October 2020
Paula Whitbread-Roberts.
During strange times and unusual circumstances, we are forced to
think deeply about life, with perhaps melancholy thoughts
sometimes beginning to emerge.
A true sense of perspective simmers just beneath the surface of the
mind or maybe thoughts are extruded from buried depths within the
psyche. Living adjacent to a lake I frequently sit deep in thought in
the garden listening to the various sounds of nature or saunter
alone, in a ponderous mood, stopping sporadically to absorb the
quietude, listening to the chorus of beautiful bird calls which evoke a
mesmeric, dreamlike quality. It all feels pleasantly surreal, so
peaceful sitting by the waters edge breathing in the intensity of it’s
serene beauty. A truly magical experience, a charm never lost on me.
As early dawn wakes and the sun begins to rise and the musical
wakeup call of the many spectacular birds fills the air, all becomes a
visual feast for the creative mind. Emerging shadows, mirrored
reflections of trees and water plants spring into life in the shallows.
Ripples and patterns emerge as the light dances all around. All is
perfectly still, there’s a warmth like an invisible cloak, a delightful
embrace, ethereal, an absence of presence. The ancient history that
lies deep beneath the lake feels tangible in the air.
Then as darkness descends it becomes more haunting and magical.
As the light slowly fades, sky and water merges creating a beguiling
sense of calm. I hear the skimming of geese breaking the glassy
surface with their wings as they begin to roost.
At these moments of purposeful solitude and positivity, the pure
realisation of the greatest fortitune creeps into my soul.
