anna woolston 

This painting has many layers of Russian-related symbolism in it. The background was originally painted in 2009 from a satellite image of fields near Povorino. I overworked some washes and liked the somewhat "vintage" look, and originally intended to work it up as a more conventional English still life. Somehow the cogs seemed to fit, referring to the giant industrial processes...

Recently I spent an entertaining two days at St Ives School of Painting, under the guidance of Naomi Frears, and found over the course of the workshop the next step in the direction my work is heading. Although I had experimented with certain ideas and techniques, Naomi helped me to focus and formulate these into a more controlled and complex whole.