'Louisiana Irises (I Burned As You Bloomed)'
Original artwork. Framed, ready to hang
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Blazing heat and azure sky, glamorous flamboyant blooms, the exquisite flush of high summer. The painting captures an essence of the ephemeral and the enduring: the fragile, fleeting blossom, in the context of floriography- the language of flowers, which for thousands of years has been a means of cryptological communication across cultures.
From the evolving body of work 'Elemental' in which Sophia employs her unique style of working using the four elements of nature. "It is a balancing act of control and freedom; of discipline and guidance, whilst simultaneously relinquishing all authority and throwing the odds to the winds, to chance encounters and the unexpected. The physical plein air process of creating this painting captures the tangible moment when the primary forces of sunlight and the winds of time are frozen into being: A painting scratched and scarred by the caress of stems, leaves, and silken petals; tactile memories, intrinsically embedded".
Mixed media on watercolour paper. Deep blue tones of cyanotype solution used as a painting medium, together with vibrant colours of richly layered acrylic ink and poetry inscribed in pencil.
Float-mounted, framed & glazed (Hand finished Italian hardwood frame).
Signed, dated and titled in pencil to the lower right corner, studio Label, signed and titled to verso.
58.5 x 41.5cm / 23 x 16.3 inches
(Framed 60.5 x 78 cm / 23.8 x 30.7 inches)
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About The Artist
Sophia Milligan is a contemporary multidisciplinary artist, drawn to the immediacy of moments, underpinned by enduring narratives. Her work explores the natural flux and balance between all things: the freedom of the air and solidity of the soil; Of anchored stone and rhythmic water; Of human narratives written in the wild landscapes; In the sensual interplay of light and shadow.
'Born among the wild cliffs and tempestuous seas of west Cornwall, I grew with the intimate details in the twisting lanes and the intense changing light throughout the turbulent seasons. I formed a primordial connection with a deep instinctual sense of being part of the natural narrative, and wherever in the world I may be, this connectivity underpins my practice. Like the wind sculpted hawthorns and sensual coves of weather worn granite, I have been shaped by the powerful energy entwined in this ancient raw environment.’
‘We are the stories of the journeys that came before. I weave into my work the tales of transitory circumstance; of struggle and survival; of forms and textures holding records of evolutionary millennia. I paint, I draw: with marks, mixtures, photography, words; the raw earth; the restless oceans; the whispered breeze. I work with time, and the immeasurable spaces of experience within, giving subtleties of existence a pause for contemplation. There is beauty in such poignant breaths. All moments are significant, every pebble of now forms the vast mountain of yesterday, and the great realm of tomorrow's possibilities'.
Sophia has a 1st class honours Bachelor of Arts Degree in Visual Arts and World History, and a Masters Degree in Contemporary Visual Arts. Her work is held in international private collections, and exhibitions of her interactive, immersive installation, photography and mixed media works include 'Tabula Rasa', London; 'Superlative', Plymouth; 'Transition', Newlyn; The Eden Project, Cornwall; The European Parliament, Brussels; Kew Gardens, London; and 'The Cameraless Film Festival', Chicago.
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Modern . Still life . Contemporary . Flower . Beach house . Floral . Nature . Leaf . Leaves . Minimal . Minimalist . White . Blue . Yellow . Green . Purple . Garden . Monochrome . Tropical .