Pomegranates

This still life began with the idea of the viewer’s eyes following the stack of leaning bowls, as though they are about to fall. I have always been attracted to Asian design and chinaware, so I enjoyed painting the suggestion of hand painted Chinese motifs on the bowls. The colours on the china defined the colour palette for the rest of the painting, so the strong red of pomegranates was an obvious choice to include in the still life. A different tone of blue in the china plates sets off the fruit and contrasts with the yellow ochre background. The flower twigs fill the void on the right of the painting as well as offering a contrast in line and texture. I find the composition and the inexact brushwork pleasing as they create the feeling of a moment in time, which is the effect I planned to achieve.

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Gayle Atkinson (born 1954 Brisbane) is inspired by the colours and design found in the natural and built environments to create mostly acrylic paintings. She also dabbles in pastel and watercolour sketching. Gayle has focused on improving her art techniques since retiring from teaching. Her interest in art started in high school and continued through her study to be a teacher at Kelvin Grove University in Brisbane, where she achieved a distinction in her art major. Gayle has attended various workshops over the years to vary and enhance her skills. Currently she attends weekly expressive art classes at RQAS Gold Coast and paints outdoors at varying locations on the GoldCoast on a monthly basis with the Escape Art group of artists. This group has also escaped to Boonah for a week of painting local scenes. Gayle sold a painting of the old creamery situated behind the Mt Alford Scenic Rim Brewery, when the artists held an exhibition at the Boonah Art Gallery in February, 2020.

Gayle visits art galleries and exhibitions whenever she can to gain inspiration and stimulation to improve her art expression. She aims to create colourful, expressive paintings that enhance the style of a space. In her still life work she uses a mixture of textures, line, shape and contrast to provide zing in her paintings. Her landscapes portray the beaches and hinterland of the Gold Coast. Gayle’s photographs during her overseas travel provide a lot of subject matter, especially crooked old, stone buildings which she loves to paint.

Gayle likes to experiment with bright underpainting colours which show through in parts to the top layer of colour. She feels that this use of contrasting colour adds depth and interest to the painting. She tries to move away from realism by using loose brushstrokes when it suits the subject. Her future goals are to paint on a larger scale and to improve her painting techniques including the application of paint and her colour palette choices, in order to create excellent quality, vibrant art that reflects her own style.