Victoria Elisabeth Kiff
On Painting in Oils
The dynamics of colour, place and character
The paintings explore many facets, bordering between a place, a person and
memory. They are richly interwoven with colour and embody a painterly surface texture Having surrounded myself with a collection of carefully selected pictures from which to pursue and reference with an objective, a room, and persons of interest,
alongside written extracts, the painting takes on its form. A painting which has the potential to express human experience and embrace the movement of life and light.
The theatre of a figure within a given space encourages me to explore a personal narrative within two conflicting sides of the central character. The disciplinary objects which interact are the fragments to the design as a whole, and place this very unique character or characters in a continuum of thought to dialogue.
Influences range from the expressive and deeply emotional Portraits of Oskar Kokoschca, as in his famous painting ‘The Tempest’ 1914. The paintings by Nicolas de Stael depicting organic shapes of a rich earth palette and the dynamic positioning of the Figures in the manscapes by Keith Vaughan.
On Painting in Oils
The dynamics of colour, place and character
The paintings explore many facets, bordering between a place, a person and
memory. They are richly interwoven with colour and embody a painterly surface texture Having surrounded myself with a collection of carefully selected pictures from which to pursue and reference with an objective, a room, and persons of interest,
alongside written extracts, the painting takes on its form. A painting which has the potential to express human experience and embrace the movement of life and light.
The theatre of a figure within a given space encourages me to explore a personal narrative within two conflicting sides of the central character. The disciplinary objects which interact are the fragments to the design as a whole, and place this very unique character or characters in a continuum of thought to dialogue.
Influences range from the expressive and deeply emotional Portraits of Oskar Kokoschca, as in his famous painting ‘The Tempest’ 1914. The paintings by Nicolas de Stael depicting organic shapes of a rich earth palette and the dynamic positioning of the Figures in the manscapes by Keith Vaughan.
Victoria explores the possibilities of spatial elements in her work, to the main focus of the paintings, which is essentially the human figure. The environment where she lives influences the colour and textures in her work, natural forms are continually re-invented, experiences provide the basis of painting as a life source in varying quantities. Patterns emerge within the body, revealing the inner workings and motion. Colour and space relate to thought, and the separate elements
of line and texture in the painting record the necessary contradictions.
Victoria says she is continually searching for an historical presence in the work, consisting of what is real and imagined. Painting from life is an essential to the progression of the paintings. She also works from photographs, anatomical drawings and medical references. Influences to her work include painters Francis Bacon, Frank Auerbach, Oskar Kokoschka, Keith Vaughan and Nicolas de Stael as well as the artist, writer, dramatist, Antonin Artaud and ''The projection of the true body''.
of line and texture in the painting record the necessary contradictions.
Victoria says she is continually searching for an historical presence in the work, consisting of what is real and imagined. Painting from life is an essential to the progression of the paintings. She also works from photographs, anatomical drawings and medical references. Influences to her work include painters Francis Bacon, Frank Auerbach, Oskar Kokoschka, Keith Vaughan and Nicolas de Stael as well as the artist, writer, dramatist, Antonin Artaud and ''The projection of the true body''.