Tag: legs

As Above so Below; Collage Art by Jessica Ballantyne

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As Above so Below; Collage art by Jessica Ballantyne

I have been washed over with a flood of creativity these last couple of days and it feels great! I think I owe this inspiring frenzy to staying open, not restricting myself to oil painting, and with meeting and throwing ideas off fellow artists. I think the latter is the most significant.

jessica ballantyne, artist, collage, surrealism, surreal, legs, hans bellmer, mirrored, double, onion rag, lace, under wear, floral, wallpaper, art, montage, mixed media, artist, south african, contemporary, dream, step, feet, black and white legs, black and white, velvet frame,

 

 

The following pieces are artworks from my Legs that go series. The collages are the fist artworks I’ve made using that beautiful, stunning, wonderful, patterned paper as well as found objects and dried flowers.

“As Above so Below” is really vibrant with lots of textures and tactile elements….I wanted the artwork to beg to be touched! The method of collage is so different from painting that I think I may switch between them when I get fed up with one or the other…:)

The collages are directly referencing the paintings I recently completed titled “Legs that Go Go GO!”. I find the imagery of the doubled legs to be really expressive and feelings can be alluded to, based on how the legs are placed. For example in “Shy” (below) I switched the left and the right legs, which I thought gave them a coy, shy ambiance.

The frames are all flocked by me to give it a deep velvety appearance and feel. I make up the images using a combination of found elements like lace underwear, onion bags etc. and combine them with floral paper and cut outs of my own photography.

Because of the collage technique, the images are made up with little conscious thought. I have a range of materials which I place together until they feel right for me. The mixed media collages are light and whimsical compared to my more serious oil paintings 🙂

 

jessica ballantyne, shy, legs, lace, onion bag, artist, collage, surrealism, surreal, legs, hans bellmer, mirrored, double, onion rag, under wear, floral, wallpaper, art, montage, mixed media, artist, south african, contemporary, dream, step, feet, black and white legs, black and white, velvet frame,

“Shy” was the first piece where I incorporated real dried flowers into the artwork to evoke the senses. I wanted “Shy” to evoke feelings of innocence and purity but also to hide an underlying sexuality that is neither innocent, nor pure. The onion bag acts as a textural layer, hinting at the pattern of a fishnet stocking; a symbol of desire, sensuality and availability (in my opinion). The lace border is placed at the height a bridal garter would be, to add to the sign of sexual innocence and purity. I included three dried pink roses and a sprig of lavender to complete the piece.

I tend to gravitate towards themes of objectification and the use of the female body in media imagery, as well as delving into subjective experience and psychoanalysis:)

My work is available for sale, for more information contact me or visit my Etsy shop here

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Legs That Go Go GO! New paintings by Jessica Ballantyne

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Legs That Go Go GO! New paintings by Jessica Ballantyne

 

surreal, oil painting, painting, studio, artist studio, legs, lace, blue legs, surrealism, dark art, erotic, strange, dream, subconscious, bedding, bed landscape, landscape, desert, sky, clouds, hold up stockings, lace, stockings, fishnet stockings, bright, vibrant, yellow, blue, feet, double, mirror image, mirror, feminism, objectification,

 

The days are getting longer, which means…
more daylight hours in the studio for painting!!
It also means I can almost start cycling to the studio again, through the beautiful Rainham marshes, which is a healthy pleasure:)

I am very happy to announce that the two paintings I have been working on- for too many months now, are finally complete!

This year I am focusing on creating 12 large oil paintings in the theme of bed and dream. These are the first two in the series. See that big canvas behind them that they are resting on in the above picture? I have made two that size that will be the next two paintings…My aim is to have my first solo exhibition in the beginning of 2016!

landscape, legs that go all the way up, humourous art, strange art, vibrant art, oil painting, contemporary art, south african artist, surreal, oil painting, painting, studio, artist studio, legs, lace, blue legs, surrealism, dark art, erotic, strange, dream, subconscious, bedding, bed landscape, landscape, desert, sky, clouds, hold up stockings, lace, stockings, fishnet stockings, bright, vibrant, yellow, blue, feet, double, mirror image, mirror, feminism, objectification,

 

Inspiration

 

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landscape, legs that go all the way up, humourous art, strange art, vibrant art, oil painting, contemporary art, south african artist, surreal, oil painting, painting, studio, artist studio, legs, lace, blue legs, surrealism, dark art, erotic, strange, dream, subconscious, bedding, bed landscape, landscape, desert, sky, clouds, hold up stockings, lace, stockings, fishnet stockings, bright, vibrant, yellow, blue, feet, double, mirror image, mirror, feminism, objectification,

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The title, Legs that Go Go GO! is a response to the phrase; “Legs that go on forever” a phrase used to describe a tall, slender (attractive?) women.

I have subverted the phrase with “legs that go go go” not only to insinuate the length and mirrored quality of the legs (that really do “go on forever”) but also to insinuate action…something that is rarely attributed to the female form in art and the media.

These legs are muscular and ready to run!

There are a few artists that were visually inspiring for this piece. Joan Jonas being one and Hans Bellmer being another. Bellmer was interested in the fetish. His dolls incorporate adolescent-looking female parts and clothing.

Although he insisted his work was an opposition to the fascist Nazi government, politics aside, one cannot ignore the nudity and prepubescence of these sexually displayed dolls, that make his work as much of an expression of his own sexuality through the female form, as a rejection of the Nazi rule at the time.

Where Bellmer uses images of adolescence ( school shoes, socks, prepubescent body), I added a more “adult” signifier of sexuality and sexual allure and availability- that of the fishnet stocking.

I chose fishnets because they have the same quality that lace has, which I love for the same reason- in that it covers without covering and reveals without revealing completely.

I placed the legs in an unfamiliar surrounding.

They are the inhabitants of a strange land- a kind of bedding, desert landscape- a soft place to run and walk around. I did this because I find the bedroom has always been an important place for me -a space of comfort, privacy and security- to sleep, to dream, to create, amongst other things 🙂

I also associate the bed with death and rebirth; I see deep sleep as a kind of death- death of ego, and waking up as the rebirth of ego and identity.

 

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The Doll c.1937-8 Hans Bellmer 1902-1975 Medium: Photographs, black and white, and ink on paper Dimensions Support: 185 x 752 mm frame: 211 x 781 x 18 mm Photo: © Tate, London [2015] 

 

I suppose my legs are a direct response to Bellmer’s leggy doll; a sexualised and disfigured female anatomy. However the response is a critical one. The legs in Legs that Go Go GO! are not lying down, they are not passive.

They actively confront the viewer.

My aim was to create an uncanny, living presence in the legs. I wanted to give an uncanny strength and presence to an often purely sexualised part of the female body.

 

Process Pictures

 

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landscape, legs that go all the way up, humourous art, strange art, vibrant art, oil painting, contemporary art, south african artist, surreal, oil painting, painting, studio, artist studio, legs, lace, blue legs, surrealism, dark art, erotic, strange, dream, subconscious, bedding, bed landscape, landscape, desert, sky, clouds, hold up stockings, lace, stockings, fishnet stockings, bright, vibrant, yellow, blue, feet, double, mirror image, mirror, feminism, objectification, close up,

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landscape, legs that go all the way up, humourous art, strange art, vibrant art, oil painting, contemporary art, south african artist, surreal, oil painting, painting, studio, artist studio, legs, lace, blue legs, surrealism, dark art, erotic, strange, dream, subconscious, bedding, bed landscape, landscape, desert, sky, clouds, hold up stockings, lace, stockings, fishnet stockings, bright, vibrant, yellow, blue, feet, double, mirror image, mirror, feminism, objectification, close up, artist studio, Jessica Ballantyne, legs that go

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Jessica-Ballantyne-Painting-in-progress

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Jessica-Ballantyne-in-progress

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