Melanie Goemans

View works. Melanie Goemans
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... Hers is a beautifully quiet, subtle, provincial art evoking a sense of transience and of receptiveness. It felt very English and somehow akin to poetry. I could well imagine her work accompanying the poetry of Philip Gross, for example, or Edward Thomas.’ - Anthony  Haynes, publisher (2013)

ARTIST STATEMENT
“In the early morning I walk my dogs locally and look for the small seasonal shifts, thinking about the quiet beauty in the everyday and particularly in the natural commonplace things, rarely celebrated. My paintings are inspired by what I see around me: the form of a tree; the long lines of twining stems; the intricate lines of birds in flight. Often I am reminded of a poem or a piece of music and revisit an idea resonating there. References include Hardy’s ‘The Darkling Thrush’, Yeats’ ‘He wishes for the cloths of Heaven’, de la Mare’s ‘Silver’, Hahn’s ‘Exquisite Hour’, Schumann's ‘Kinderszenen’. Working from projections of photographs I’ve taken, I trace the lines loosely with a fine square ended brush, and the marks build up the complicated patterns of the whole. Using traditional materials - oil, gold leaf, charcoal, gesso - my work draws attention to these fleeting moments and underscores their value.”  M.G. 2023