My strong interest in representational painting comes from the very traditional training that I received in Poland, where art education is still quite academic and very much based on the observation of nature. During these years my perception of the world became very sharp and sensitive. I discovered that I could see everything as a composition of patches of different colours in various tones. By closely examining these colours I learned how to perceive them exactly as they were and, therefore, how to transfer them precisely on to a canvas.

Expressive thoughts

I quickly understood, though, that art is something more than exact depiction of the reality. I realised that it is my personal expression of thoughts and feelings, resulting from a perception of nature ruled and filtered by unknown processes from the subconscious parts of my mind.

So, following my instincts and intuition, I started to experiment with different techniques and media in order to be able to free myself from these academic boundaries and distinguish my individual language.

My art is a journal that is a reflection of the true world of my creative forces. It is the result of a very intimate process of picturing my memories and internal needs, in combination with the images of the surrounding world.

That is why one of the main subjects of my work is myself, as well as people that I am emotionally connected to and who have had a big impact on my life. I have always felt a strong empathy towards people, therefore it is also a great challenge for me to work on commissions and paint people who I do not know very well.
 

Portrait of Anita Bell in her Studio, acrylic and oil on canvas, (61x51cm).
This was painted at Anita’s home in Portsmouth, as a gift and a tribute to our close relationship. I was always captivated by Anita’s appearance, which clearly reveals her hearty and open personality. Her art, knowledge and creative engagement hugely inspired me within my work. I had the opportunity to paint Anita within the intimate environment of her studio space which, for me, is an incredible piece of art in itself

Fascination for faces

I have been always fascinated by people’s faces and their different characteristics. The face is a kind of a map that reflects the drama of life; because it identifies us it is the most important and the most individual part of our body.
The human face has the most complex musculature of the entire primate species, as well as the most subtle and complicated system of mimicry, thus we can express ourselves with an endless range of moods. I could risk a statement that the face is the most intimate part of a human body – it reveals our mysteries and becomes a cognitive object encouraging every one of us to try to read it, because of our strong need to understand one another. A face painted on a canvas is a kind of a document of the relationship between the artist and the sitter. Eyes are, for me, a central point where the dialogue between the viewer and the painter can begin.
Being an immigrant, I paint people as representatives of two different cultures and I try to distinguish the results of historical and cultural influences that shaped their lives as well as mine.

A Break, acrylic and oil on canvas, (46x38cm).
This painting won both First Prize and Visitor’s Choice Prize in The Stride open art competition at Oxmarket Galleries in 2011

Background detail

My latest portraits are very narrative and intricately painted compositions, where the rich background seems to be more important than the sitter. They tell stories by representing people within their everyday surroundings and show how the environment defines their personalities.
I find it very interesting to observe how differently people organise the spaces around them, what kind of items they tend to select, in what sort of order they like to group them, how they describe their habits, living and working routines.

Within the constant and careful study of the world around me I notice details before the overall view. By the precise recollection of these details within my paintings, I seem to work against the selectiveness of the memory. This tendency has become more intense since leaving my native country, and longing for my home. Suddenly, all the everyday objects and little characteristic things from my familiar environment, which I had never seemed to notice before and which I had taken for granted, became incredibly important. Preserving them in my memory for further examination became an essential part of the process of painting and discovering my identity, both cultural and historical.

Self portraits

My self-portraits seem to be much more personal. They are a kind of a performance where I am not willing to present typical sensations such as happiness, sadness or fear. By making numerous representations I am trying to show the complexity of my personality and a constant dialogue between the many selves that inhabit me.

Self-Portrait in Red, acrylic and oil on canvas, (81.5x100cm)

With the rest of my art they are a part of a process of a reflection on the nature of my identity, but from the psychological point of view. And they actually show my failure in finding the one, ultimate definition of myself. They are definitely painted for different reasons, rather than portraits of other people, such as those of my artist friend Anita Bell or my father, which are more of a tribute to my relationships. Self-portraits show different kinds of truth, and this comes from the need to express frustrations and internal struggles.

Self Portrait with a Rag, acrylic and oil on canvas, (200x160cm).
My self-portraits are parts of a self-directed performance, which is a very exciting and unpredictable experiment in which I try to discover myself, showing things that cannot be described in words. I am a main character, wearing all sorts of masks. I am also an audience and, with the viewer, I reflect on it, watching the act, wondering where it leads me, not knowing the end and not being able to predict the outcome

Working process

I start the whole process of painting by preparing the canvas, which I do from scratch. I use finely woven but densely structured cotton fabric, which I tightly stretch on to a wooden frame. I always want to make sure that the primer will not soak through the canvas, so first of all I impregnate the canvas with rabbit skin glue, applying one or two layers, which also helps the canvas to stretch properly.

Some artists use only this as a background and paint directly on it, but there is still a risk of paint soaking through so I prime it with two or three thin layers of acrylic gesso, always white, to help colours stay clear and vivid. I use very smooth and delicate brushes, so before I start painting I always smooth the primed surface with very fine sandpaper to protect them from the abrasion.

I work in acrylics and oils and never use turpentine or white spirits to thin the paint because they cause colours to lose their glow. Instead I use mediums based on damar resin and linseed stand oil, which are specially designed to increase gloss and impart depth to paint film. In order to minimise gradual damage and dissolution of the bristle, I do not use any chemicals to clean my brushes – I use ordinary cooking oil instead.

I work from photographs I have taken myself. I often combine them, using a computer, into collages, creating drafts, which I transfer directly on to a canvas, starting from a very general outline using just water-thinned paint.

I do not use a projector because the surface of the picture changes constantly and I want my process of work to be unpredictable. It is very exciting to make decisions as I go along rather than have the final composition ready from the beginning.
 

2 O'clock, acrylic and oil on canvas, (46x38cm).
This painting and A Break (above) are portraits of my father, made as part of a series I am currently working on entitled ‘Poland, Intimate Landscape’. I am trying to reveal a typical fragment of post-communist urban Poland that represents the daily life of my family and friends, people who strongly suffered living at the interface of two political systems and the effects of the sacrifices they had to take during the struggle as they tried to adapt to a new capitalistic reality

Layers of colour

I love colour, so I use every colour that I am able to obtain. I want my palette to be as wide as possible. It is amazing how many hues of colours I can find when I study every square inch of every surface; when enhanced in my painting these colours have a magical quality that seem to make my pictures glorifications of the internal and external worlds I portray.

I want the composition to look finished at every stage of painting. I work with layers, first in acrylics applied in a fast, gestural way to create a general abstract outline. Then I apply a few more transparent layers to bring out the shapes of all the elements, which I later develop with very precise brushing, trying to leave the background visible in some points.

By combining textures with a wide range of colour and forms I hope to make the picture more interesting from both a visual and technical point of view. My aim is to create very ordered pieces of work by using very undisciplined methods, so that the final image comes about partly by chance.

By assembling realistic, very detailed elements of the composition with an abstract background, I hope to lure the viewer’s attention. I want the viewer to come closer, to investigate further, and thus establish some sort of relationship with the work.



Agata Wojcieszkiewicz obtained an MA in Fine Art Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts, Gdansk, Poland and is now professionally based at Making Space Community Arts Centre in Havant. She has exhibited in Poland and in the UK – her portrait of Anita Bell was selected for the BP Portrait Award exhibition and she won The Stride open art competiton at the Oxmarket Centre, Chichester.

This feature is taken from the October 2013 issue of The Artist