Counterpoints, Tina Newlove, July 2015
My latest paintings explore situations where women react and interact, alone or with each other, to and with nature, children, men and the controllable and uncontrollable environments around them. The figures in my paintings struggle to be seen and heard and yet at the same time hide and sink away from the viewer’s sightline. Layers of paint define and then defuse the themes, adding complicated relationships between repeating shapes and overall composition.
I see the patterns of people, cities and trees overlapping in concentric circles. I am interested in the spaces between, repetition and transparency. The title of this exhibition, Counterpoints, details the intricate balancing act intrinsic in life and painting. The paintings share a hypertension reinforced by the composition of layers that vie for attention, the titles such as Nervous Wait and the personal symbols including red flags (Checking the Mail) and figures with rabbit ears (They Made a Garden in the City).
The focal point can be under the horizon line, dead centre or half off the canvas, suggesting a continuing story. Metaphorical scenes catch figures in moments of contemplation, anxiety or in mid-conversation with unseen counterparts. The background moments of my day-to-day life contribute to the steady hum of energy in the work: the patterns in the ceiling fan, quilts and fabrics, the stitching on the organ, wallpaper, the bowl of apples in the kitchen, poetry, the steady chug of the dishwasher, the ticking of time and the dryer, and techno thumping away become a part of my art-making process.
