Pennie Elfick RWA:

Pennie is an abstract artist whose practice is informed by the world around her. She says “It could be a fleeting movement of light, an ancient mosaic, architectural shapes both modern and old, the formal layout of an apple orchard, shadows cast by natural or man-made items. Colour defines moods and atmosphere, juxtaposition defines space, form, perspective and scale. The simplicity of the images contains a stillness that lies at the heart of something observed and experiences, a synthesis of a moment seen and remembered.”

Her work is created slowly by building up many fine layers of paint; each layer dries before the next is applied. This method of working gives the paintings their depth and luminosity, enabling these surfaces to change with the moving light of the day.

“At times it may seem as if I use geometry as a base for my imagery, however, nothing could be further from the truth, although I am interested in geometric shapes their mathematical construction eludes me, I work intuitively.  I make small rough drawings to plot out how the shapes may work in a space, sometimes these are cut out shapes that can be moved around the space and continually reordered until it ‘feels right’.  The imagery is then loosely transferred onto the surface, where upon further adjustments are made, sometimes completely removed and started again

The combination of colour, line and shape is the most exciting and intriguing part of working, using seemingly repetitive shapes and lines can create calm or chaos, order or disorder, particular colours change the mood of the work, sometimes disorientating the eye or they can be works that allow the viewer time to stand still and contemplate and offer a breathing space from the chaos of life.

When I am working, I have a continuous dialogue with myself, questioning and reassessing the line, the shape, the space, the colour.  I think that this helps me clarify what I am doing and trying to achieve.”

Pennie’s work is summed up in the words of Donald Judd: “Minimalism is the simple expression of complex thought.”