 |
'Edinburgh Suburb 8am' by Tracey Unwin |
This painting was born from a series of photographs taken from the balcony of a third floor flat just south of Edinburgh, where I was at university studying for my Master’s Degree (in Animal Behaviour).
The block of flats was a rather
uninspiring 1970s structure in the midst of a slightly run-down residential
area. At first glance it did not look
like the kind of place I would be able to take beautiful photos. However, in
the quiet moments of early morning and dusk, I discovered that from the flat’s
tiny concrete balcony it was possible to capture some stunning images. In the evenings, huge flocks of gulls
travelled overhead, back to the sea after a day of scavenging on churned up
farm fields. The dynamic
yet peaceful pictures and videos I took as the birds soared above were entirely
detached from the dreary setting below. The
sunsets were dramatic too, and even managed to make the dusky buildings
beautiful.
In the winter mornings before the
day fully arrived, the sunrises could be spectacular too, and I loved the
effect of the silhouetted house with birds swooping overhead – an interesting
contrast of action and stillness. If I
had a spare few minutes while getting ready for the trip to my campus at the
foot of the Pentland hills, I would dash out to the balcony and click away with
the camera until my fingers started to go numb and I realised I’d be late for
the bus.
One evening I made a watercolour
copy of one of my favourite shots, which then sat inside a sketch book for
seven years until I found it in 2014 and decided to make a full-sized painting
out of it. ‘Edinburgh Suburb 8am’ is a
simplified version of the original photo, and I decided to paint the buildings
with very clean, tidy lines in order to convey the stark impact that the scene
first had on me as I stood shivering on that tiny balcony.
Written by Tracey Unwin
To see all of Tracey Unwin's artworks for sale on ADO please visit her artist's page
No comments:
Post a Comment