Emily Barden

BA Art and Design

This project serves as a personal documentation, as I added to each of the 5 canvases over months to end up with a final body of work. This process explores how we can visualise our subconscious and inner mind, as I painted my automatic ideas and experimented directly onto the canvases. By working in this way, each layer is freezing the moment in time that it was painted. Cumulatively, they produced these dreamlike, surrealist compositions. By leaning into the acrylic paint’s properties, I was able to play with translucency and consistency in order to create effects with brushstrokes and colours which I have not previously achieved.

I found that my visual inspiration came from conversations, places and books that I had experienced over the months. The colours are bright, playful and reminiscent of childhood, as this project aimed to bring back the carefree attitude towards art that is often lost as an adult. By having no end goal for these pieces, I was able to paint more freely than I have done in the past.