Isla Ferrer
New Zealand
My creative journey started when I joined the photography club at Intermediate School and it is a hobby that I continue to enjoy. For a number of years I photographed my children’s basketball games and it was during this time that I experimented with different camera settings and lenses creating impressionistic and abstract photographic images to find grace and artistry in both sports and everyday life.
It was these images that inspired me to take up pastels. I had tried painting them in oils but found mixing colours and waiting for paint to dry frustrating. The vibrancy and luminosity of pastels seemed a more appropriate medium for the ethereal quality of these images and the tactile nature of pastels and their immediacy resonated with me.
Art is a means for me to express my personal translation of the unique makeup of a subject, my interpretation and narration reflected in subtle colouring and delicate strokes of the pastel medium.
At the heart of my artwork there is a love for observation, to look past the obvious and capture the details that we often overlook.
I like to draw the viewer in with tightly cropped and less conventional compositions, the textures and details beckoning them to slow down and look beyond the conspicuous to see the character and nuances of the world around us; to take their time to discover beauty in the ordinary.
* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 16th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.