Ann Stoker

Almost my entire life has revolved around the arts: the visual arts, the performing arts and music. When I was young I played piano, I danced on stage and I loved to draw. I really don’t remember a time when I didn’t draw. At the time when I had to decide my direction, I chose the visual arts as the path I wanted to follow and it has been my main form of expression ever since.

My practice includes: painting, drawing, linoprint, mixed media and digital art. I enjoy the different challenges that arise from working with a range of disciplines and the variety suits my nature!

For several years, I worked almost entirely in monochrome, exploring methods of making mark and line, and noticing the different ways in which abstract shapes manifest themselves within a composition. This became particularly apparent to me when making linoprints. I became intrigued by the abstract elements in an image and how the relationships they have with one another are crucial to a successful composition. I began working in layers, exploring the process of eliminating, obliterating and obscuring elements in the initial drawing to find which were dispensable and which were not, and leaving an image that contains only the essential information to convey the subject.

The fascination with expendability has continued into my current body of work with a series of abstract paintings. I am continuing to work in layers, exploring colour relationships and exploring not only the relationships of the abstract elements within each layer but also the relationship of each layer to the other.

In essence, the paintings are an intuitive investigation of the visual world using the language of line, shape, pattern and colour. They are an unselfconscious representation of the world around me. They are an attempt to give expression, form and visual coherence to my intuitive response. They are always challenging and always a surprise, as I have no preconceived idea of the outcome when I begin a painting. Each painting experiences many stages of transformation until it arrives at its natural conclusion.

Having no subject matter as a starting point and no conscious knowledge of an outcome is an interesting and, for me, compelling way of working but brings with it a whole different set of challenges. There are no ‘real life’ confines with which to conform or be guided when working figuratively. Because the painting is not being made to represent any specific subject matter, there is nothing outside the artist that dictates or restricts choice. Choice is reliant on the discernment of the artist and complete trust in the process, and that can be an exhilarating way to work and immensely satisfying.

Click images to see full size…