Hazel Neill
Study for THE FIELD
I have always worked in a variety of media. (My degree was in Sculpture and my Post Graduate Diploma in Photography), but I have recently returned to my first love which is painting.
In painting I am concerned, not so much with subject matter, as with light and atmosphere. The subject matter can vary but the images are usually triggered by a particular experience of the subject, often in the transient light of dawn or dusk. The paintings begin with observation but are often, in the end, a synthesis of observation and memory.
I glimpsed this white horse when walking along a country road at about 10.00pm on an Autumn evening. The horse was barely visible and the dense pine trees behind created a deep velvety darkness. The alert pose and steady gaze of the horse generated a sense of mystery which I wanted to replicate.
The painting is in oils on gesso board. The smooth flatness of the gesso surface allowed me to paint in fine detail but made it more difficult to achieve the deep blacks and dark tones of the background which required many layers of colour.
Website. hazelneillart.com