Looking up trees to help forget a time past Originalby Emz Finch
Acrylic
8x8 Inches
This piece celebrates the healing nature of trees. The gold leaf, together with the neon Pink that halos the leaves are important to the artist, Emz, as they remind her that looking up to see light through leaves helps her to move on from a troubled time into an unknown and exciting future.
My paintings are born out of deep emotion - they allow me to get curious with these emotions, accept them and express them through colour. I have developed this practice after experiencing PTSD - during this dark period, my mind was paralysed and the colour I saw was dark and foreboding. I learned one day that being in nature, and particularly laying under trees allowed me to look to the sky and see the full range of beautiful colour again. Each painting I now undertake seeks to remind myself of this moment.
My process is therapeutic. There are emotions that come up throughout my day that I haven’t the time to fully explore, so I give them a colour and a shape and when I’m in my studio, I recall. I either mix my black oils, or open Procreate and I start. Whilst I paint, I get curious and try to work out what it is about the emotion that I’m not comfortable with. And I paint it. Once the canvas is covered with the darkest colours, I pause and reflect. I’ve done something hard. And now it’s time for fun. I now start mixing the colours, I put on some fun music and just let rip. Often, I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror during this phase of a painting and my face is lighter, I’m smiling, and sometimes dancing! The final part of each of my paintings is the sky. I apply it slowly. With purpose. Almost like a stretch after an exercise.
I consider my paintings semi-realistic and a mix between impressionism and Pop and I have ambitions to scale up my work when I have the space available. I’m also excited to explore the possibilities of working in traditional oils and digital formats together, and how the two can really complement each other.
https://www.emzfinchart.co.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/emzfinchart
