Capture

Capture

'Sharon Purves enjoys the drama of the everyday. Inspired by the chiaroscuro of Renaissance Dutch still-lives, Purves casts ordinary objects, flowers, hands, fruit, in their own theatrical movements. The process begins with something stopping her in her tracks: a flower at its most alive, the undertone of someone’s hands, the split and ooze of decaying fruit. A composition will come to mind instantly, the finished painting arriving in a clear instantaneous vision. Even though Purves photographs this moment, it is the powerful memory of composition she will return to when painting. Her pieces are layered, creating a luminosity of colour, as if the subjects are lit from within. Purves delights in transposing a deep and powerful aesthetic, saying, ‘the world is ugly enough, why not give it a little more beauty.’ Writer - Kate Reeves Edwards @culturalcapitalarts