POV@MACC gallery August – September, 2022
How the Light Gets in
This series explores the process of watercolour painting, specifically the non traditional use of the medium, combined with acrylic paint thinned to use like watercolour. It is about how paint can be used as language; of how the message of the work is held within the paint and it’s application.
The inspiration is drawn from nature and our relationship with the animal world. I am interested in our co-dependence with animals; our sense of placement and entitlement, our role. The painting process is partly intuitive; I let the birds, animals and human presence appear spontaneously. How, when and where they appear is the product of painting as an expressive and analytical language.
Alison Taylor
Alison Taylor is a British-born Canadian artist. Born in York, England, she emigrated with her family to Africa in 1963 and to Canada in 1969.
Brought up in a household equal parts science and art, with always a dog or two, has inspired a great respect and empathy for animals. From her childhood spent in West and East Africa emerged an inherent connection and relationship with the natural world and the animals within it. A trip to Olduvai Gorge cemented the importance of the man/animal connection in the 10 year old mind, which today is the inspiration and focus of her art practice.
The Canadian years saw Alison working as a Pathologist Assistant in Winnipeg while at the same time developing her creative process. Many of her paintings have a view point from above, an analytical approach, the influence of dissection work in a laboratory.
Primarily a self-taught artist, Alison‘s work uses the animal form as a vehicle for the expression of human emotions. The message is contained within the paint and its application; the paint surface being a primary focus.
Alison has participated in multiple group and solo shows and has been awarded two Visual Arts Grants. She has paintings at Warehouse Artworks in Winnipeg, and in private collections in Canada, England and Germany. Presently working from her studio in Sooke.