Jump or swim!.....Scottish figurative painter Patsy McArthur

Scottish figurative artist Patsy McArthur paints the human form in air, water and always in motion.  

"The human figure has always been central to my work: a result of the strong commitment to figuration in Scottish painting as well as an individual interest in depicting the human being and human concerns.

I have long been interested in making imagery associated with the human figure in motion: leaping, soaring, flying, falling, floundering and the associated emotions that these types of image can trigger in the viewer. For the last year or so, I have moved my imagery underwater, exploring similar ideas of suspension and weightlessness and the curious connection between how the human figure can appear in both water and air.

I’m interested in the “otherness” which comes from being submerged below the surface and the technical challenges associated with drawing and painting the figure through different transparencies of water. Mostly, however, I remain interested in creating evocative images associated with the human figure moving through water or air with energy, strength and freedom or simply relinquishing control to the space around them.

Drawing and draughtsmanship have been at the forefront of my practice since my student days and continue to play a crucial role. I enjoy the directness of drawing and I find that monochrome work serves to strip the image down, without colour to seduce, it focuses one on the content. Even when painting, I will often work with a very limited palette, remove colour rather than add it, and work with very thin layers to build up tone and transparency." Patsy McArthur

New works available at The Horsebox Gallery