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Artist Sue Warner lives in the Wreake Valley in rural Leicestershire, where her family have farmed for several generations. Sue now has responsibility for farming regeneratively, for the benefit of nature and the environment. The land is bordered to the south by the River Wreake, which, 200 years ago, was much larger and operated as a canal carrying many barges. Remnants of this time are evident along the banks.
Sue’s environmental journey parallels her search for more sustainable and less toxic materials for her art. Experimenting led to the chance discovery of the effects created on paper of diluting oil paints with linseed. The textures are very different when viewed from the reverse side and are often more subtle, even ethereal. The stained glass effect revealed the most magical shapes and figures when backlit by evening light, as they emerged from the images of trees and floods. The loss of many mature ash trees to dieback and the understanding of the role of fungi in the cycle of life also influenced these images.
The format was chosen to offer the viewer the experience of looking up into a tree or wooded area. Inspired by a visit to David Hockney’s work from Yosemite, the images have been mounted on bamboo cut from the artist’s own garden.
Thanks to : Jesse Leroy-Smith, Faye Dobinson Dan Pyne and Jessica Cooper for their input.
Reference : Unquiet Landscape by Christopher Neve, A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Soon it and Entangled Lives by Merlin Sheldrake
Artists who especially influenced this work Cecily Brown, Keith Vaughan, Hans Svierderling, Keith Haring and John Piper.