Journal

Atmospheric Abstract Landscape Artist Zoë Ashbrook

‘All the Blues’ by Zoë Ashbrook

Meet our latest addition to the Artists Appreciation Initiative, Zoë Ashbrook

Inspired by her sensory and emotive responses to the natural world’s landscape,  Zoë explores the ever changing energy in light, space and features of the land through texture, colour and mark making.

Zoë Ashbrook’s landscapes are extraordinarily sensorial and invite you to get lost in atmospheric worlds of subtle changes. In the same way that temperature and seasonal changes exact their influence on a landscape, so too are Zoe’s paintings successful in capturing more than a specific moment in time. They have a history to them and tell a story of time and place through exquisite mark making, colour and textural subtlety. As a result, her landscapes are not static, but have a kinetic energy, intrinsically tied to the changing seasons and light conditions that may be exacted upon a place. That is quite extraordinary really.
 

‘Breathing Space’ by Zoë Ashbrook

 

The Artistic Process

Of course the process is all important in achieving this. Zoe’s paintings are many layered, and as she adds and subtracts, scrapes and scratches from the canvass, so her landscapes develop and grow. Weaving into them a combination of delicate and bold marks, allowing her paintings to grow organically; letting the unexpected emerge to create a rich tapestry, much like the studied landscape and the passing of time.
 

‘Embers’ by Zoë Ashbrook

What the artist has to say:

Zoë says of her art, “With each piece of art my goal is to create a painting which will intrigue the viewer to look closer, and to be rewarded each time by a new discovery within the delicate subtlety of colour shifts and quieter, softer details allowing the viewer to find their own unique connection to the work.”

“Inspiration for my work is captured through observation and photography of the landscape. My aim is not to replicate those scenes but to transfer the emotional and sensory responses to the textures, marks, colours and movement to the surface of the canvas or wood.”

‘Summer Rain’ by Zoë Ashbrook

“I like to work in multiples on canvas or wooden boards. Paintings begin with a sense of play and bold energetic moves. As the layers build, the surface evolves and begins to develop its own unique history and identity. At some point there is a shift and it is then that the painting starts to dictate it’s own path forward with me responding to each mark or brushstroke made. The pace of work slows during the final stages as each move becomes more considered while still seeking to maintain a sense of spontaneity to keep the painting as alive and dynamic as the inspiration behind its creation.”

Originally from Cambridge, and having lived in various places around England, Zoë has now been based in Gloucestershire since 2011 where she practices from her studio. She is currently studying an MA Fine Art at the University of Gloucestershire. 

Meet the artist: Zoë Ashbrook

 
You can get hold of Zoe Ashbrook directly via :
 

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