Abigail Winfield

I use both acrylic and oil paints on smooth wooden board, using brushes, pallet knives, and my fingers to smooth the paint creating different textures and building many layers. I like to use my hands to move the paint around as this creates exciting and unexpected results, revealing the grain and flaws in the wood through the paint, and by using my fingers I feel I am adding a part of me to the mark making, which then adds more depth to the finished painting.
I like to paint from a series of photographs of the sitter that have been taken in their own environment, and I include items in the painting that are personal or of special significance to the sitter, which reveal their personality. This combined with the use of light and shade shows the sitter's vulnerability and helps to convey their feelings and emotions to the viewer.