‘Colour is a power which directly influences the soul’
Wassily Kandinsky
Helen Field and Viv Owen became acquainted several years ago as they work in adjoining studios at Westgate Studios in Wakefield.
‘Although we enjoy a similar space and conditions and light in our studios at first glance it would appear we have very different works, but what actually connects our work is a joy of using colour’
Helen enjoys a strong colour palette including acrylic paint for bold application, richly pigmented inks and thickly applied oils for texture. In this series created through and beyond the pandemic restrictions, you can see a longing to escape followed by an explosion of energy and excitement at the emergence of spring and new beginnings.
Viv blends her oil paint colours directly onto stretched canvas, aiming to keep the vibrant and immediate reactions to her chosen subject. Her vivid, gestural oil paintings display a fascination with facial expressions captured from paused film and television. The paintings glance at one another, and invite the viewer to guess at their feelings of grief, intrigue, amusement or joy.
Drop in for ‘A Splash of Colour’ at Bowery Visual Arts, 54 Otley Road, Headingley, Leeds LS6 2AL from Saturday 19 March until 20 May.
More details at viv owen
