Felicity Rutherford

Why Abstract ?

(A question I am often asked).

Instead of painting the literal, I am painting the connection. The sub-conscious link of emotions and memories which are tapped into by the colour choices and marks that I am making on the surface. Whilst, when I start, I have no idea what the work might become, it will lead me on a journey until I find what it is that the depth of my soul is wanting to express.

It is the joy of the creating - the push and pull that gets you to a ‘finished work’ that I love. Being able to look into a painting and see the previous layers - either as texture or as a hazy visual reference, with each layer giving the painting a history and depth which creates a personality all of its own.

I know it sounds crazy - but for me I believe my painting ‘knows’ what it wants to be. It takes me on a journey, and sometimes I end up places that it doesn’t recognise. When the painting gets into the phase of ‘lacking direction’ (it is a thing), I have learned to do something totally random to the work to completely disrupt the current narrative.

The intention of this act is to give me, and the work, a bit of a ‘reset’ which then leads the creative process in a different direction. I firmly believe that because this disruption is usually very expressive and not over-thought, the work starts to wake back up and become more alive and visually exciting. This is usually the catalyst for the process to start to ‘sing’. When this happens, I literally say ‘Oh, there you are !’ I have found where it has been trying to lead me and how it is needing me to respond so it can become what it has always wanted to be.

I also love that depending on the lived experiences and history a viewer brings with them my paintings can be interpreted differently. It is always wonderful to have someone tell me what the painting is communicating to them, and how they perceive it - as very often it is not what I have read it to be.

Hearing other people’s perceptions broadens my appreciation of the work I have created. I always enjoy hearing the interpretations of others and having these interactions with a viewer.

I would like to challenge you to look at my work - and let it speak to you on a deeper level. Keep in mind history and life experiences are carried by us all in very different ways. If you’ve struggled to appreciate abstract artworks before, with this mindset you might find that you see more in the work than a random collection of marks and colours that you find hard to understand. I hope that you will accept the challenge, and that by letting yourself become immersed in the emotion of the work you gain a deeper understanding of not only yourself, but also my abstract practice.

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On a personal level, I am a fairly quiet, reserved and modest person.  I have confidence in myself, but am not one to ‘blast it from the rooftops’.  My aim is always to be the very best version of myself, and to boost other people around me to have confidence in themselves and believe in their self worth as the individual that they are.

Enjoy your browse…

Feel free to reach out and contact me should you have any questions.

Felicity Rutherford.

The work featured as the background to these pages is ‘Moments of Clarity Lost in Time’ -image displayed below.