Jane Andrews
I’m often asked what my paintings are about. I think, broadly, the work deals with character, identity and survival strategies. They are my attempt to understand, interpret and express ‘reality’ as I grapple with it, consciously and unconsciously, while intellect plays its part, I rely more on instinct than reason.
The paintings evolve organically. I try not to work directly from an idea, as this lends itself to illustration, but rather approach the work from the side; the more arbitrary the starting point, the more authority is given to the painting. I steal from anywhere; and inspiration has come from a snatched conversation, a photo in the paper, or a drape from a Caravaggio.
Once a starting point has emerged, a dialogue begins and the painting clicks into action and takes on a life of its own. I love working on large canvases, where there is room for invention, and small canvases, where throwaway one-liners can develop a new line of inquiry.