PENELOPE GILBERT-NG
I am a painter, that is who I am. I have painted all my life and continually studied, explored and enjoyed my learning processes on how I want to communicate visually to an audience. For me the effect of light on my subjects and the shadows created by a light source are in a sense equally important in creating the shapes, tone and composition required to make an enjoyable painting. I paint in all mediums but pastels’ spontaneous response and multitudes of hues and tones are so exciting especially when painting from life. I never cease to be amazed by the results. I don’t paint photographically but do believe in portraying and responding to what I see, simplifying and eliminating detail so as to make the viewer's eye work as well. My mark making is bold and confident yet shows a sensitivity to my subjects.
When I paint the adrenaline flows and energy transforms into my work. I cannot think of any better way to spend my time than painting. We are truly blessed as artists. My teaching has been a wonderful source of learning as I have learned so much from my students. I first played with pastels over 40 years ago but seriously concentrated on using them for the past 29 years. I have found the speed of using pastel so wonderful when working with a model on a weekly basis as I love the individual skin colours of each model and how the light affects that colour. Pastel is the perfect medium to work from life. I hope that my paintings lift the viewer's spirit when they look at them.
