GAYLE
WHEATLEY
ARTIST
STATEMENT
My
paintings portray a unique world of surreal landscapes where space mermaids
float past nebulas and co-exist among tangerine fish that swim about out of
water. My images often feature blushing girls who represent classic feminine
archetypes. These timeless archetypes have appeared throughout history in art,
literature, and mythology. In my paintings they emerge reinvented—within the
modern context of pop culture. These sweet-faced girls cast shadowy undertones
full of curious eccentricities and hidden mythologies—challenging the classical
representation of the feminine throughout art.
Because
my art is heavily influenced by the destinations I travel to, my paintings are
filled with cultural references that are combined to form a rich visual
language. Patterns and lines are laid out in combinations that create floating
compositions symbolic of the flat picture planes of Japanese prints. My painted
girls are tattooed with foreign scripts that either contain translations of my
poems or explore the underlying concepts behind my imagery.
My
painting process revolves around the ancient Chinese concept of energy, or chi.
Similar to meditation, painting requires me to focus on the flow of my energy,
locking out everything else in order to direct that essence through emotional
filters that result in spontaneously lush color applications peppered with
beautiful accidents.
-- GW
Moon Dream
Blush, Oil on Canvas
8” x 6”
Lulu, Space Mermaid
Oil on Canvas
8” x 6”
High on Butterfly Air
Oil on Canvas
12” x 16”
Tika Current
Blush, Oil on Canvas
6” x 4”
Blowing Goldfish
Bubbles
Oil on Canvas
11” x 28”
Oil on Canvas
14” x 12”