artist statement

My main source of inspiration is the natural world that surrounds me. I grew up in Carrbridge, a small village within The Cairngorm National Park in the Highlands. The historical Packhorse Bridge surrounded by rivers, rock, mountains, lochs and enchanting woodlands made for a very active childhood, full of imagination and adventure. My appreciation for landscapes is a combination of childhood nostalgia and the beauty and contemplation I find in nature.

Some of my favourite memories are going for long walks with my family along the river Dulnain in Carrbridge, the shores of Loch Morlich in Aviemore and Ostel Bay beach in Tighnabruaich. We would play games as children, having competitions to see who could swim the farthest out into the sea or who could catch the most ‘sticky willows’ on our clothing in Glencharnoch woodlands. This was pure, simple fun, finding joy in the world around us.

Now that I am older I have a new found appreciation for these memories. I feel very lucky to have grown up in this area and am grateful to my family for providing me with these experiences that have defined me. With my current body of work I have tried to encapsulate this feeling of nostalgia and appreciation through painting, creating an emotive response. My intention is to create a sense of atmosphere, to draw the audience in, making them feel immersed in the landscape as I do.

I achieve this through simple yet effective techniques such as tearing around the edges of my paintings. This creates a much more organic feel to the artwork, mimicking the rugged textures in nature. I feel that sharp, clean cut edges can bring a rigid, unnatural feel to the artwork, almost as if the landscape has been contained. When I think of nature I think of the open air and freedom it provides.  The ripped edges bring character to my artwork and create that sense of wide, open space to roam and explore for miles. The landscape does not just end at the edge of the paper, it goes far beyond. My intention is to make my audience feel as though they could jump right into the picture, inspiring them to go out and explore the landscape.

I work primarily in black ink from Berol and Fineliner pens combined with water. I start by sketching out the captivating forms and rich textures I see in the landscape before applying a wash of water with a paint brush. The ink bleeds into a beautiful mix of blues, purples and pinks. This allows me to enhance the quality of texture and create some striking effects. I love the colour palette the black ink emits.

I incorporate writing into my paintings, intertwining memories to bring an element of storytelling to my artwork. The writing is deliberately illegible which means the audience can only decipher the words if I share the story behind the scene. This is what brings us closer together …our relationship with the earth, nature and each other.

I have also recently adopted a more illustrative style in my paintings, defining some parts of the landscape and leaving other bits untouched… My artwork is not supposed to be an accurate depiction of the landscape, rather an accurate representation of my personal response and what that means to me.

In addition, I create short films to demonstrate how I produce my ink paintings. These films give an insight of my artistic observation and thought process whilst creating a calm, atmospheric and immersive experience for the viewer. My films also demonstrate how I combine elements in nature like river water, snow, pebbles, moss and leaves to discover new painting effects. This is a technique I call ‘painting the landscape with the landscape.’

My films are a combination of art and documentation.  A document haunted by the idea of an artwork, and an artwork haunted by the idea of the document.

This style of work is an accurate reflection of my personality. I am inspired by my emotions and strive to produce work that is evocative and thought provoking. I am fundamentally a sensitive and expressive person so creating these artworks is a wonderful way for me to express my emotions.

My artwork is not just a reflection of the landscape, but also a reflection of myself.

Alice Bootle