Emily Gregory-Smith
Degree: MA Fine Art
University: University of Wales, School of Art
Graduation Year: 2005
New Blood Art Commentary
Meeting wild landscapes with an open heart and brave technique is what Emily Gregory-Smith takes up as her artist’s challenge. From her studio in Aberystwyth, she recreates the surrounding Welsh coastal areas, estuaries, and inland river valleys that otherwise might remain a local secret. Freshness and vitality infuse each piece; open skies, pale light and clarifying blues are what leads works to mesmerise and uplift the viewer. Smudgy mark-making mimics the wind-swept work of nature itself, bringing a rawness and elemental coolness to the two-dimensional picture plane. One of New Blood Art’s first represented artists in 2005, Gregory-Smith’s masterful technique and assured artistic intuition truly deepens with each new piece.
Artist Statement
I return often to the coastal areas and estuaries of West Wales and its inland river valleys near my home, to walk and draw. There's something compelling about these places - the light, the watery expanses and big skies; their raw elements ever newly configuring. In the studio, I paint intuitively and try to let the materials lead the work to allow the freshness of the landscape to come in through the paint. There is an element of risk in this kind of painting which is important. It’s not just about the landscape, the paint itself, or my emotional response, but all three together creating a resonance for the viewer, a space for their own feelings to be present in their own remembered landscapes