Midge Naylor
Studio 48 St Michael's, Bridport
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07989 072157
’feeling, after all, is always and everywhere the one and only source of every creation.’ Kasamir Malevich
“To me, much of the power of a painting lies in its ambiguity. Around the start of the last century abstraction was driven by the outward gaze turning inwards.
‘Inspiration’ is a troubling word connoting a blaze of lightning from the heavens, but I tend to rely on the ever-changing insights emerging from the subconscious, moving freely between degrees of abstraction/figuration.” Midge Naylor
…’feeling, after all, is always and everywhere the one and only source of every creation.’ Kasamir Malevich
To me, much of the power of a painting lies in its ambiguity. Around the start of the last century abstraction was driven by the outward gaze turning inwards.
‘Inspiration’ is a troubling word connoting a blaze of lightning from the heavens, but I tend to rely on the ever-changing insights emerging from the subconscious, moving freely between degrees of abstraction/figuration.
Making a painting is a difficult journey which can last weeks or years. I work in layers, adding, adjusting and removing elements until the form, colour and texture issues are resolved. In this digital world texture is important to me - paintings must show some of the history of their making. Scraped and broken elements lend a feeling of presence. Weirdly, a finished piece takes on a life of its own, almost as if it wasn’t made by me.
I experiment with different materials including graphite, charcoal, pastel and oil. Professional acrylic, much improved in recent years, is my chosen paint. A fast drying time is essential. Every work is protected by a meticulous application of varnish.
“These paintings defy any sort of literal reading; even where there is a landscape within the picture it does not abide by the rules of the real world since here we are in a different landscape of the psyche.”
Vanessa Lacey Irving Gallery Oxford
Midge Naylor is a Scottish visual artist born and raised in a fishing and mining community east of Edinburgh, Scotland. After completing a Fine Art degree at University of the West of England she worked as a commercial decorator and painter in tv and film. Acquiring a South Bristol studio in 2012 marked the beginning of a professional career in painting and print. In 2024 she moved back to the sea, continuing to develop the work in Bridport, Dorset.
Exhibitions include The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2011, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2024, London, Royal Scottish Academy Edinburgh, Discerning Eye, London. Elected as a Royal West of England Academician in 2012. ‘Drawn’ and Printmaking Opens Bristol, British Film Institute. Best Regional Artist Award RWA 2012. Bath Society of Artists Painting Prize 2023.