2024

Steph Trethowan

Artist Statement

Artist Statement

I am a Midlands based Contemporary Artist. I paint in oil and am drawn to using line and colour to convey my experience of my subject. My work is influenced by fauvism and expressionism; being able to convey my connection to my chosen subject is central to my work. I rarely use conventional perspective in my work and like to explore the boundaries between figurative work and abstraction. I love the texture of oil paint and use brush and scraper to exploit that potential. My connection with the natural world is often reflected in subject choice.

Artist Website

‘Under the Edge’ is inspired by the quarries, edges and villages of the Dark Peak. My intention is to evoke a sense of things lost, with a suggestion of reinvention. My process, involving obfuscation and recovery, is, for me, symbolic of loss and new growth. Oil on board. 61x51 cm.

‘The Overseer’ conveys, at one level, my experience of my local cathedral city and the omnipresence of its spires. At another level, the narrative is about power and associated hierarchies. My use of scrapers to manipulate oil paint reveals colour, but also leaves darker traces. Oil on board. 51x61 cm.

‘The Empty Chair’ is inspired loosely by my garden. For me the empty chair symbolizes the absence of people as well as those who are held in mind. Once again I have used scrapers to reveal aspects of my underpainting. Oil on board. 30x30cm

‘Edge and Village’ is inspired by the Dark Peak. My intention is to convey my experience of depopulation in juxtaposition with the enduring majesty of the natural world. My process again involves obfuscation and recovery, allowing my unconscious to guide some of my creative choices. Oil on board. 61x51cm.