Raimunda
(character, played by Penélope Cruz, in Pedro Almadóvar’s film Volver)
Oil on canvas
2007
“Painting offers a version of reality in the same way as films do. I paint portraits of these unreal moments. The poses I choose are evocative – the moment that stays with me days after I have watched the film.
Using oil paint like watercolour, I build up the painting in thin layers to make the surface glow – an imitation of a television screen. The unearthly colours accentuate this. The green hue references traditional techniques of painting, where green was used as under-painting to give luminosity to the surface colour.
Working from photographs of the television allows me to paint an isolated, spontaneous moment, which the character hasn’t specifically performed for. I pare down the image to include only the information required for the character to be recognisable and for their expression to be conveyed to the audience. The viewer is presented with a split second of time, suspended in paint.”
Please visit Josie McCoy’s gallery on her website to see more of her art.
[Citation: Quote from Josie McCoy’s statement from her website. Image from Josie McCoy’s gallery on her website.]
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