Fiona Millais 'Journeys' - 01.05.07

Gallerytop is currently showing paintings by Fiona Millais for the first time.  These new paintings demonstrate a beautifully subtle yet intense palette of colours, which include deep forest greens, fresh turquoises and warm oranges.  Although contemporary, these works would sit equally well in a modern or traditional environment.

Fiona uses the landscape as her main source of inspiration in these pieces, although they are rarely directly representational.  Paintings are often produced on the completion of a journey and are evolved from memories, drawings and notes done on the spot.  Textures, patterns and colours all come together to evoke a sense of place, and found objects such as feathers and leaves are sometimes painted which add to the interwoven history. 

The artist is intrigued by the development of landscapes and the marks and echoes left by man, and this is certainly evident in her work.  She represents natural and manmade features (such as gently rolling hills and furrowed fields) to produce compositions which are both harmonious and intriguing.  There is a lightness of touch, though no lack of strength in this confident body of work.

There is indeed a contrast to the vigour seen in the recent exhibition of paintings by Kristan Baggaley, which was a great success.  Some of Kristan’s paintings can still be seen at gallerytop, alongside new wooden vessels by Rosemary Wright.  Rosemary uses oak and ash for most of her pieces, which demonstrate good, honest craftsmanship and are beautifully finished, allowing the natural qualities of the wood to impress.  The forms are simple yet sculptural, and somehow seem to hover ever so slightly above the surface upon which they are firmly seated.