Alison Jardine - British Artist in Texas

Oil Painting - 36" w x 36" h x 2" d

Alison Jardine - Artist’s Statement

"I am an expressive painter using traditional oil-on-canvas techniques on wood or canvas to create contemporary symbolic or abstracted works that have implicit emotional or philosophical narratives.

In my most recent series, I create “digitally” distorted and filtered images of nature, often of trees with pixelated leaves, forests in infrared, or geometric fractal scenes. My interest in using the motif of trees and forests in my work springs from their incredible versatility as a symbol. On a personal level, they represent my mother (who I never knew) since as a child I found solace and nurture in the woods.

On a societal level, they are objects of beauty and danger that are entangled in many myths and legends, representing a lack of regulation, a certain freedom, a purity, as well as danger, sexuality and threat, and they speak to our deeper, wilder, less evolved selves. As artistic forms, they are sculptural and animistic, expressive to their very core as they interact with, and are shaped by, their surroundings, in terms of light and dark, color, form, and composition. They also encapsulate well the beauty of the natural world that seems to precious to me, and is so evidently threatened by our way of life.

In all my work, I explore the tension between light and dark, absence and presence, grief and joy, death and life. This reflects my own conflict between ‘outer’ intellectual, cold rationalism expressed through constructed non-organic shapes, and ‘inner’ emotional, warm consciousness that is so fluid and natural.

Ultimately, inevitably, all my works of art are self-portraits."

(copied from Alison Jardine's website)

Oil painting - 36" w x 36" h x 1.5" d

Alison is an artist that I met on Twitter, she is not only an incredibly unique artist but a very kind person. I always enjoy hearing from her. Her tweets are always informative and interesting.
You can find her on Twitter using @alisonjardine. Alison is in the List of 20 Artists to Watch.
Here is Alison's website, her blog and portfolio. The website has information about works for sale, contact info and her about page for more information about Alison and her work.

All of Alison's work is amazing but her Disorder Series resonates with me...it is stunning. I love the intensity of her work.
From Alison's website:

"In my Disorder series, I develop symbolic expressions of the human spirit, our energy and character. For me, this is deeply marked by the tension between life and death, light and dark, color and blackness, emotion and rationality, ignorance and knowledge. The broken glasses represent the human, and the human energy, arranged to represent scenes, circumstances and feelings from my own life, my past; and eventually my future."

Remains ~ 16" x 20" oil on board ~ 2010

Imbalance ~ 16" x 20" oil on board ~ 2010

Impermanence ~ 16" x 20" oil on board. This is a direct and honest expression of death. The glasses are pure energy, the soul, and they carry the grief within them, although they hold their form. The support, the step ladder, express the bitter hostility and anger when those who grieve are enmeshed in their pain.

Suspended ~ oil on clear-primed wood panel. 18" x 24"

Alison Jardine's bio (copied from her website):

"I grew up in Yorkshire, England, from a family of artists, professional and hobbyist. My interest in art lead to studying for four years part-time while still in High School, and later two years full-time, at a college of art and design, after which my desire to see the world consumed me. I traveled around Europe before settling in London for several years and gained a BA at the University of London in Politics, Philosophy and History (thus satisfying my need to understand as much as possible about just about everything).

I moved with my family to Texas in 2003, and this enabled me to focus on my art, training myself and refining my artworks, through classes at SMU Meadows School of Art and through relentless practice, observation and study.
I began showing my work in 2008, and since winning the Grand Prize in the Art of Elan competition in 2009, I have been working full-time as an artist.
I am active in the local art community, being Vice President of the Plano Arts Association, organizing art competitions for PISD, and as a regular contributor to Art Conspiracy, annual charitable art event, and other charitable fundraisers."