On the opening night of Isabelle’s exhibition
‘Flux,’ the room was alive with people mulling around, spilling wine and perusing
the nine paintings. But now the room is empty save for Isabelle and I and the
space is completely transformed. The paintings are all untitled, adding to the
continuity of Isabelle’s work. Each painting holds different shades of light
and the idea of ‘flux’ indicates the process of flowing: light flows between
the canvases. It’s hard not feeling consumed by the work, as the paintings
speak to one another and an environment of light and space is created.
Isabelle is fascinated by the ever changing
light of the sky; she spends a lot of her time going for long walks in pursuit
of light. Her travels lead her to Marrakesh where she experienced the hot, warm
light of the Middle East and this brought new perspective to her work. She created the two paintings (right) after
walking by the Avon canal, watching as the dying light of dusk settled on the
bulrushes and turned the water a murky turquoise colour. 
By using subtractive colour theory, Isabelle takes a lot of care in preparing and mixing her paints until the colours complement each other. Her palette is often muted as she seeks to capture subterranean and earthy colours as can be seen in the work below.
Isabelle’s art is mimetic, her subconscious
comes through in the paintings and they are undoubtedly, an extension of her
inner self. She works quickly, making marks on the canvas, allowing the
painting to lead her. She experiments with primers, tipping and layering paint and
sometimes working at different angles. Viewers experienced the paintings in
very different ways and Isabelle was interested to hear what they drew from her
work; one girl told her that the painting (pictured right) reminded her of
the path she took down to the sea whilst it made me think of the afterlife when
Heaven and Earth shall meet.
After a very successful first solo
exhibition, Isabelle plans to continue capturing light and push forward with
her paintings. She is now experimenting with artificial light and plans to
travel to Japan later in the year to take a course in wood blocking
printing. She says that an artist must
allow themselves to follow unexpected path and let life lead you where it will.
To find out more about Isabelle, view her photography or purchase any of her
paintings visit her website: www.isabellehogarth.co.uk
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