Quiet moments, domestic scenes, muted palettes. Sigh. Lovely. These oil paintings are the work of Melbourne based painter Prudence Flint. Who are these people, and what are they thinking about? I couldn’t find her artist statement, but I did find a really great interview she did with the University of Melbourne, so I’ve pulled a few of my favorite bits:
Listen beautiful relax classics on our Youtube channel.
Initially I thought that, if I was going to be a painter, I’d have to paint mountains and landscapes and important things like that. But in my first year at the VCA the penny dropped and I started painting women. It was as if I realised that it was OK to paint the things I was obsessed with. That was huge for me – it was a really exciting time.
Self-doubt is a big part of my work; all of those unpleasant emotions like shame and guilt and feeling like I don’t deserve space. I’ve learned to make friends with it now. Some people reconcile those things in real life but I tend to do it in my work.
My main model is a friend of mine who’s nearly 30. I’ve painted older women, but the minute you put an older woman in a painting, a bit of grey hair or whatever, the painting becomes very specific, which can be distracting. So for now, I’ve gone back to doing younger women.
I’m always asked where the men are in my work, and why I only ever paint women. Do people ask Peter Booth those types of questions? His male figures represent “humanity”. It is curious to me that my figures are not described in that way.
I’ve always struggled with feeling socially confined but with my work it’s a whole other front – I feel much more free and true to myself. Art is a place where I can really feel the expansiveness of life.
Yes, yes, yes! Happy Monday.
Source: thejealouscurator