Nell Symonds - An Evolution of Style, The Corner Store Gallery
Nell Symonds - An Evolution of Style
Through exploring dramatic tonal contrasts and examining the balance between light and shade, Nell Symonds creates dynamic still life portrayals. Composed of assorted potteries, summery lemons and curvaceous pears and pomegranates, her subjects are often selected for their shapely proportions, intrinsic colour variations, luminosity and ability to cast compelling shadows.
Commencing the creative process by exposing her objects to various lighting manipulations, Nell photographs these arrangements extensively against darkened backdrops, to ascertain the colour combination and configuration she will reproduce on the canvas. The imagery is drawn directly onto canvas or board, with the largest portions of colour work typically deposited within the first pass. The majority of the tones she achieves in oils are bold and lustrous, and a direct result of her desire to discern more colour in the confides of her composition than she initially perceived in the earlier stages.
Distinct facets of Nell’s still lifes hold highly personal and symbolic connotations. The presence of negative spaces and much of the shadow work reflects periods of solitude and introspective internal monologues that accompany her introvertive personality. The inclusion of vintage pottery and cast-off ceramics are considered instruments in which to express the long-term passage of time, both within the wider world and her own, and with it, shifts in her subjective appreciation and perspective.
Nell Symonds, The Corner Store Gallery
About Nell
Nell Symonds has spent much of her life immersed in the Australian landscape, since her upbringing in small WA townships and current residence in Mandurah, on Perth’s south coast. Her time in the bushland, sighting the distinct environmental elements and remarkable flora, has greatly influenced and informed her works, the style and execution of which was developed uniquely over a number of years.
Initially taking art classes during her secondary schooling, Nell did not consider the visual arts a professional pursuit until her adulthood, when she adopted a primarily self-taught approach. Whilst travelling abroad in her 20s, she drew still life images and portraiture in a combination of charcoal and graphite, as a means to document her journeying. She eventually established an interest in the integration of oils and began learning the technical aspects of their usage and depicting her works in this alternate medium. Later finding herself struggling to produce artistically satisfying works, she took the advice of acclaimed West Australian artist Anya Brock, who encouraged her to paint subjects that resonate at the soul level.
Quickly inspired to paint green pears on top of a darkened backdrop, this concept was the product of Nell consciously observing the fruits in a bowl lit by downlights, against the dark blue of her kitchen wall. As she discovered her attraction to the contrasting colour structure and evidentiary shapes and shadows of this seemingly simple subject, her signature still life series was born. In an effort to extend upon these concepts, she has progressed into the depiction of landscape imagery, successfully characterising the contrast of light and shade within a wider scope. Australian artists David Moore and Clifford How have been frequent influences over her works, due to what she perceives as their inherent ability to convey the expression and stillness of their subjects and scapes.
Nell has been a finalist in a number of local and interstate art awards, including 2022’s National Emerging Art Prize and Lethbridge 20000. Additionally, she has participated at the Affordable Art Fair and in severalgroup exhibitions within Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
Nell Symonds, The Corner Store Gallery
Nell Symonds in her studio, The Corner Store Gallery.