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Jessica Cooper
Jessica Cooper talks to Chloe Wild about her search for the perfect painting.
I find inspiration for my paintings when I
least expect it, when I'm not looking for it. I'll catch sight of a
magnolia tree as I walk around a corner and think:
‘wow’ I've got to draw that, I've got to paint it.
I like to extract things that I feel don't
matter and to paint the bare bones of life: consequently the work
appears to be minimal. One pencil line or a brush mark on the canvas is
the result of clearing out a head full of chaos, ideas and thoughts.
Titles have always been an important part of my work
they are a vital link to the painting. In this body of work I
explore the idea further; the catalogue for the exhibition "Tell Me A
Story" reveals just that.
Peace and isolation suit me. I work best when I'm either extremely happy or very angry and sad. I like to paint in the winter when it’s bleak and cold and the elements are laid bare. I work from home which I love, even though that means working in a small studio. I wouldn't want to commute!
Two of my very first competent drawings when I
was about 4 years old were of an apple and an isolated house which I had
titled "Apple" and "House": so it seems some things don't change and
will always remain favourite subjects.
I have 3 books by my bed. They are: The Dogs
Of Winter by Kem Nunn, Tales Of Ordinary Madness by Charles Bukowski
(which I've been reading for over 2 years) and Riding The Magic Carpet
by Tom Anderson. My guilty pleasure is reading trashy magazines.
Surfing is the only time when I completely
switch off. A friend persuaded
me when we were in France about four years ago and I was immediately
hooked. It is to do with the space and the unpredictability that I find
in the sea, constantly searching to find a perfect wave: In some ways it
is the same feeling to being alone in the studio, searching for the
perfect painting. I hope I find neither; I wouldn’t want the ride to
stop.
Jessica Cooper graduated from Goldsmiths College London in 1989 with a B. A. Honours
Degree in Fine Art / Textiles. She has exhibited nationwide and was one
of the artists recently selected for Art Now Cornwall at Tate St Ives.
Other exhibitions have included 2005-06 RWA Open Painting Exhibition :
Royal West of England Academy : Bristol.
Her most recent exhibition ‘Tell me a Story’ opens
September 27th - October 27th at
Badcocks Gallery, Newlyn.
Article appears courtesy of Cornwall Today |
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