Valencia-based British artist Josie McCoy’s new paintings see her continue to focus on female actresses and the characters they play as subjects of her beautifully crafted portraiture. Read more below.
We’ve been working with
Josie McCoy for many years now, and something that continues to fascinate is the artist’s ability to not only create stunningly executed portraits, but to capture the personality of her subjects perfectly every time.
The four new paintings we’re presenting here include three of actresses or their characters, and one of a ‘real person’ so to speak. The captivating
Alison portrays actress Ruth Wilson as her character in award-winning ongoing American television series ‘The Affair’, which explores the emotional effects of an extramarital relationship between a man and a woman who meet in New York. The story is shown from both the two main characters’ perspectives, and this interested Josie because it illustrates how biased memories can be, questioning whether there really is such a thing as a ‘true’ account of events - a subject the artist finds quite fascinating.
Whether the viewer is aware of
Alison’s story or not, it’s clear this woman has something on her mind as she stares, emotionless but with focus into the distance. Her thoughts have drifted away from the present moment and she’s thinking about the past, the future, what she wants, where she’s going, as if contemplating her life. Her wind-swept, out of place hair suggests she’s outside in the open, taking in some air perhaps, or just unaware of her appearance for this particular moment in time. There’s a strong sense of escaping within one’s thoughts, and this could be what makes this piece so mesmerising, as it’s one of the only things that we all have that’s personal to us and only us forever.
In contrast,
Cristina’s Hair II is a small study based on a film still from Woody Allen’s film from 2008 ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’. This reference is almost irrelevant however, as the face of Cristina, played by Scarlett Johansson, can only be seen vaguely in slight profile from the back of her head. Josie said she wanted to see if she could “make a portrait without painting the face”. I think the answer is ‘yes’ to this question; the result is an intriguing alternative depiction that perhaps encourages us to remember to view life from all perspectives. Josie has also painted a much larger, more traditional version of
Cristina.
Unlike the previous two works, in third painting
Alicia the artist uses an actress as her subject rather than a character. Taken from a found photograph of Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, this piece has amazingly intricate detail as Josie uses her signature cool tones and perfect blending to portray the actress’s stunningly beautiful features. The fourth and final piece, titled
Tess Jordanger III after the subject’s name, is not of an actress or character, but of a woman Josie was asked to paint as a commission some years ago. Here Josie uses the same colour palette as she did for
Alicia. I love the way the raw canvas is exposed in these paintings; the unadulterated natural colour providing the perfect balance to the alluring blues used in the faces.
All four new paintings are available to buy from XXX. See them in more detail, along with other available works by
Josie McCoy on her artist’s page
here.