I work across mixed-media, acrylic on board and soft pastel, with some occasional printmaking. Currently I am working on some large final pieces from a couple of sketchbooks filled during a recent trip to Iceland. Much of my fine art work is inspired by northern landscapes and the ephemeral sculptural forms made by melting glacial ice.
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Between October 2019 and March 2020 I took some time out from work (and digital media!) for professional development and attended the Bridgehouse Art portfolio Course in Ullapool where I worked on my traditional media skills in painting, soft pastel, print and mixed-media.
Bridgehouse Art Portfolio Exhibition 2020
An Talla Solais Gallery, Ullapool
Artist Statement: Alice Watterson
My background is in archaeology where I have worked for 10 years as a reconstruction artist and illustrator. In my work I am interested in visual storytelling and the challenges of representing sensory experiences of place and landscape.
Geographically, for both fieldwork and fun I have always been drawn to wild northern places and colder environments. During the second term of the portfolio course I began to explore the origins of my relationship with the idea of North, curious about what formative experiences may have played a part in my lifelong love of northern climes. I started by revisiting many of the locations my family kayaked when I was young and paralleled these experiences with my fascination with a trip my Dad took to Greenland in 1992 when I was 4 years old. The images and stories he brought back remained vividly in my mind for the years to come and I recognise these imagined places in the landscapes and communities I have come to know in Alaska and Iceland as an adult. In 2017 we began planning a kayaking expedition to re-trace the route my Dad had taken 25 years earlier only to discover that due to the effects of man-made climate change the Greenland icecap is now releasing 7x more ice into the sea, rendering the route too dangerous to risk being blocked and trapped by icebergs.
When I return to work after the course I hope to do so with a fresh perspective on my digital artwork, and new skills to continue working in traditional media. I still hope one day to visit Greenland and connect with the place which ignited my love of the North.