Emma Hill

Friday, 11 June 2010

I went to my Mum and Dad's England home today (named so by Daisy and Iris). They have been living full time in Norway for the last couple of years or so. Now they have had to come back to sort out their flat that has been left devastated by some disastrous tenants. (Not sure what the agents were doing?) My poor Mum has been painting the walls getting rid of the trail of black grime and scratches that had been left, covered over everything. I was arrive as they return, after collecting some pictures that had needed to be re-glassed. I was then a little shocked when my Dad asked me If I realised that the paintings of mine were twenty years old! No I didn't - thanks Dad!

This is my Momo's (Mo- mo as in mother's mother, my Norwegian grandma's) painting. It is the only painting that I have seen or known of that she has painted. It has had a huge impact on me throughout my childhood that's because I believe my passion for art and my dedication, love and hunger for drawing and painting must have been inherited from her. It is all represented within this simple, raw and emotional picture. When I look at it I have fond memories of painting with her at the summer house in Hvasser. Now I can see the same expression in both my girl's faces.

This is a test print that was given to my Mofa (Mo -fa as in mother's father, my Norwegian grandad) by the artist Erik Harry Johanneson in 1951. It has a bit of a Edvard Munch feel to it.

Onto my paintings, they have been painted between 1988-1990

This painting is similar to and painted after the one below. It's a tree of life as mother nature, or at least it could be. I don't remember what it is about, why or what the elephants symbolise. A red elephant instead of a stray black sheep or elephants flying instead of pigs? The pyramids, water and maze have been used again, taken from the painting below.

I'm not sure what this is about, I think it is a journey towards an afterlife. I used to be obsessed with Egyptian civilisation, so it would make sense.

One of my favourite artists back then was Salvador Dali. Part of my GCSE coursework was to choose an artist and paint a picture in their style. So I've made my own with all the bit's I like from his paintings. It is a set of three and when placed together they roll into each other to make one picture. The above painting is the middle, the first below fits beside on the left, while the one below that fits to the right. The middle painting is one of the first ones that has my name, which was Emma Snowden signed with a flower. I had forgotten I used to draw flowers over everything, funny they are making a come back into my paintings now and that my two girls are also named after flowers.