Inside the Studio

Sylvia McEwan

What are the major themes you pursue in your work?

Colour, texture, and mark making are the intrinsic components in all my works on canvas. The focus may vary, depending on what I am working on. It is through colour, paint, and mark making that I aim to create  ‘beautiful pictures that sing and lift the ordinary into the extraordinary’.

The metal assemblages are a continuing exploration of the relationship and the balance between colour and form.

Drawing on references as diverse as Classicism and Cubism, my work shifts between the figurative and the abstract. Although it evolves from representational and moves through to the abstract, the work retains the influences and inspirations from which they were conceived.

Whilst the subject matter is important, the true subject is always: space, form, structure, and balance.

What was the best advice given to you as an artist?

Colour has to ‘sing’.

Prefer to work with music or in silence?

I do prefer to work with music, which can range from classical to rock of the 60’s to the 90’s, depending on my mood.

If you could only have one piece of art in your life, what would it be?

A work by the Australian artist, Ian Fairweather, “Cafe Tables” (1957).

Who are your favorite writers?

Saul Below, Martin Amis, Salman Rushdie, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and Annie Proulx.