Artist Maggie Wright creates portraiture and figurative work in charcoal, pencil and pastel. Enjoy her portfolio and visit her website to see more of her compelling art.
I have been painting and drawing for as long as I can remember. I love drawing as a medium and believe it is as viable a medium as painting.
I take pleasure in painting and drawing different subject matter. I have family in the west of Ireland and when visiting I like to draw and paint the unspoiled countryside. It is pleasurable to do this, however it is drawing figures and faces that intrigues me most!
I never make plans or know how a piece of work will turn out. It becomes a power of its own and dictates its own form.
I like to create a narrative, a sense of intrigue and engagement between the figures in the scenario. My work is instinctive, it flows along whilst I try to forget what I know.
When I am finished and I look back, I see its own narrative, often with a little surprise.
Working as an artist is very solitary—you really need to try and maintain a balance between being working alone and working alongside others. I have been with the Royal Hibernian Academy life drawing sessions since 2010. Working and mixing with other artists is vital in terms of the work, as it is constantly raising the standard, pushing the work and developing as an artist. It allows for feedback on my own work and provides a forum to view others’ work.
These self-directed sessions involve working with the life model. I love to examine and look behind the face to find the spirit within.
I believe the work speaks for itself in a way. It is ever-changing depending on who is looking. To have a stagnant piece would be like a door closed at the end of a tunnel—the journey incomplete, little discovery made. Each piece is worked on and then abandoned until the journey starts again.
Maybe, however, the journey begins again with a little more knowledge. In this way each piece is a journey of discovery open to every interpretation.
Artist Maggie Wright invites you to follow her on Facebook.
Dear Maggie,
your artwork is beautiful and full of presence.
Thank you for sharing ,
with Kind Regards
Pavol