is Artworks

‘This artwork is not large in scale, but its title and composition remind me of the amazing power that art has to help us to look forward with hope.

The dark blue buildings that flank this deserted city street create a bleak foreground for this work and yet, the one-point perspective of the road rises quickly with its white centre line. This directs our attention to the glowing sky, the soaring birds and warmth of the sun that creates the focal point, reinforcing the total optimism of the title.

This serves to remind me that no matter what challenges we face, there is a brighter place that awaits beyond the darkness. There is hope.’

‘I selected this piece of art because it’s so evocative. One can project into it because it looks like it could represent several different ideas – it could be a reef, it could be the opening of a river to the sea, it could be many things. I like how the artist has made good use of the space with the attention to detail in the top left-hand corner. This artwork asks a lot of the viewer, you have to work at what is the artist saying here, what are they representing. The colours, the shading, the light wash of the brush over the canvas- all of it works to invite you in to pause and spend time looking into this work. There’s a depth here that draws one in. I find it surprisingly calming and also intriguing.’

‘Miniatures depicting stories and events are my favourites. Fairyland, fairytales, magical times, and effects are what resonate, when I look at miniatures.

However, this scene is magical in its resistance! It is not a fairytale or does it depict magic. The cloud of snow looks magical, yet the magic doesn’t come from the white snow. Instead, the journey of the natural debris along the path visualises courage, patience and hope. Resilience as the pinnacle is found and the tree of life and its existence shared by all. The green life of the tree sprinkles magical rays as existence continues as life is watched from above.’

‘I chose this image as it struck me as modernist alienation, “the lonely in a crowded room” feel of modernist poetry. Although there is also an unspoken relief as each subject is maskless, denoting the passing tide of the pandemic but perhaps some ominous threat of what is to come. Each subject appears to be intentionally disengaged, prompting the viewer to speculate as to what is brewing or sizzling under those eyes.’