Alice Macdonald, Sensible Elinor, 2021
Watercolour and acrylic on paper, 15 x 20cm
Alice Macdonald is an emerging, London-based artist whose diaristic paintings are informed by a broad range of sources spanning historical literature, classic films, myths, fairytales, and friends and family painted from life. Fascinated by the complexities of human behaviour, emotion and relationships, she is attracted to the cinematic and the melodramatic, as well as the idea of role-playing. In her words: ‘I am interested in my subjects' psychological state and innermost thoughts and feelings but, dichotomously, I am also fascinated by the impossibility of knowing what these really are’.
Alice’s jewel-like works on paper form a core part of her practice, their smaller scale lending them an intense, voyeuristic quality. This unframed work is one of a series where the artist has painted whilst watching classic films and reinterpretations of historical dramas, working directly from the television, including, in this case, the 1995 period drama ‘Sense and Sensibility’. Alice describes painting from films as the opposite of working from observation in real life. She says; ‘a film still is a very specific frozen moment. It allows me to attempt to capture those seconds of emotion when a character is really happy or really upset. I am also interested in the confusion between the actress and the character – the idea of becoming someone.’
Alice studied at Falmouth University (2011- 2014) followed by the Royal Drawing School (2016 - 2017). Since graduating, she has undertaken several artistic residencies including the Dumfries House Residency, Scotland, the IIFA Teaching Residency, Modinagar, India and the Scuoloa Graphica Internazionale Printmaking residency, Venice, Italy. She has exhibited her work widely in the UK in group exhibitions including the Denton's Art Prize, London (2021), the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts (2019) and 'Dream Baby Dream', presented by Paint Talk at Fitzrovia Gallery (2022). She was awarded the Great Art Prize, given at the National Original Print Exhibition, 2017, and longlisted for the Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Prize (2021). Most recently, Alice was presented with the RWS Young Artist Award at the Royal Watercolour Society Open, Bankside Gallery, London. Alice is based in south east London.
Watercolour and acrylic on paper, 15 x 20cm
Alice Macdonald is an emerging, London-based artist whose diaristic paintings are informed by a broad range of sources spanning historical literature, classic films, myths, fairytales, and friends and family painted from life. Fascinated by the complexities of human behaviour, emotion and relationships, she is attracted to the cinematic and the melodramatic, as well as the idea of role-playing. In her words: ‘I am interested in my subjects' psychological state and innermost thoughts and feelings but, dichotomously, I am also fascinated by the impossibility of knowing what these really are’.
Alice’s jewel-like works on paper form a core part of her practice, their smaller scale lending them an intense, voyeuristic quality. This unframed work is one of a series where the artist has painted whilst watching classic films and reinterpretations of historical dramas, working directly from the television, including, in this case, the 1995 period drama ‘Sense and Sensibility’. Alice describes painting from films as the opposite of working from observation in real life. She says; ‘a film still is a very specific frozen moment. It allows me to attempt to capture those seconds of emotion when a character is really happy or really upset. I am also interested in the confusion between the actress and the character – the idea of becoming someone.’
Alice studied at Falmouth University (2011- 2014) followed by the Royal Drawing School (2016 - 2017). Since graduating, she has undertaken several artistic residencies including the Dumfries House Residency, Scotland, the IIFA Teaching Residency, Modinagar, India and the Scuoloa Graphica Internazionale Printmaking residency, Venice, Italy. She has exhibited her work widely in the UK in group exhibitions including the Denton's Art Prize, London (2021), the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts (2019) and 'Dream Baby Dream', presented by Paint Talk at Fitzrovia Gallery (2022). She was awarded the Great Art Prize, given at the National Original Print Exhibition, 2017, and longlisted for the Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Prize (2021). Most recently, Alice was presented with the RWS Young Artist Award at the Royal Watercolour Society Open, Bankside Gallery, London. Alice is based in south east London.
Watercolour and acrylic on paper, 15 x 20cm
Alice Macdonald is an emerging, London-based artist whose diaristic paintings are informed by a broad range of sources spanning historical literature, classic films, myths, fairytales, and friends and family painted from life. Fascinated by the complexities of human behaviour, emotion and relationships, she is attracted to the cinematic and the melodramatic, as well as the idea of role-playing. In her words: ‘I am interested in my subjects' psychological state and innermost thoughts and feelings but, dichotomously, I am also fascinated by the impossibility of knowing what these really are’.
Alice’s jewel-like works on paper form a core part of her practice, their smaller scale lending them an intense, voyeuristic quality. This unframed work is one of a series where the artist has painted whilst watching classic films and reinterpretations of historical dramas, working directly from the television, including, in this case, the 1995 period drama ‘Sense and Sensibility’. Alice describes painting from films as the opposite of working from observation in real life. She says; ‘a film still is a very specific frozen moment. It allows me to attempt to capture those seconds of emotion when a character is really happy or really upset. I am also interested in the confusion between the actress and the character – the idea of becoming someone.’
Alice studied at Falmouth University (2011- 2014) followed by the Royal Drawing School (2016 - 2017). Since graduating, she has undertaken several artistic residencies including the Dumfries House Residency, Scotland, the IIFA Teaching Residency, Modinagar, India and the Scuoloa Graphica Internazionale Printmaking residency, Venice, Italy. She has exhibited her work widely in the UK in group exhibitions including the Denton's Art Prize, London (2021), the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts (2019) and 'Dream Baby Dream', presented by Paint Talk at Fitzrovia Gallery (2022). She was awarded the Great Art Prize, given at the National Original Print Exhibition, 2017, and longlisted for the Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Prize (2021). Most recently, Alice was presented with the RWS Young Artist Award at the Royal Watercolour Society Open, Bankside Gallery, London. Alice is based in south east London.
