‘I am not a romantic‘ is a work on the theme of gender, identity, fashion, art, literature, popular culture, history and feminism
These are the images that influenced the work;
John Keats: The first Romantic poet I read when I was young. There was an element of trying to look clever, reading ‘high brow’ poetry – it would rub off on my aspiration to be taken seriously and not be thought of as merely a child. I found the imagery lovely but it was incredibly difficult to understand when you’re only about twelve years of age. Lately I became a bit obsessed with Regency carvates and the way they were tied. I felt the same with Lucien Freud’s tie, Kurt Schwitters suit and David Bowie’s jackets. Seventies androgynous fashion suited me and I also like to paint male Seventies fashion on females, especially female characters from children’s literature
Hair: I love a Twenties bob on a handsome face. Otto Dix’s portrait of the journalist Sylvia von Harden ( and the photograph of Sylvia) has influenced how I paint this style. Also Audrey Hepburn’s hair and Louise Brooks. I had a heavy fringe for many years, although not a bob.
Fashion: Of course, Biba. However in this picture I used a Biba print for the chair
Furniture: The chair is based on a chair in Charleston Sussex. I love Modernism and the colours used in the house are beautiful. I use yellow, red, blue and greys a lot in my work. I liked the idea of a female artist wearing Keats’ clothes, sitting on a Modernist chair with a Seventies Biba print, pretending not to be influenced by all the emotive imagery. I can’t discriminate the what, why and how I get my ideas.
Milton Head Pottery: I will incorporate the works produced by my dad’s pottery in the 1950s into my paintings to emphasis the heritage I come from. Mid twentieth century is also my favourite era, alongside Modernism.
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