Michelle Brodie - Worlds within worlds

In this series of work I’ve been painting self-portraits and other figures gazing through real and imaginary portholes.  Themes of distance and desire, symbolized by the moon and the sea, recur.  However the paint itself is also my subject. For me, no work is complete until I feel the paint itself is in position. To do this I use a blade to cut it back along its edges, not unlike cutting shapes for collage. It is only then that I feel the surface can support the emotional cargo of each painting’s narrative.