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Name: Freya Taylor

School: Portobello High School

Town: Edinburgh

County: City of Edinburgh - Scotland

Inspiration: “Every artist was first an amateur.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson While studying A-level art in my final year of high school, I feel I have been able to expand my artwork hugely. My inspiration is everything I see and experience in everyday life, from nature and literature to fashion and theatre. I have recently been influenced by artists such as Katherine Webb and Tracey Emin who inspired me to not limit myself with materials, and I experimented using textiles and knitting in combination with traditional painting and drawing. This had fed into my A-level artwork and I have produced multimedia pieces. I have always loved reading plays and seeing performances including “A View from the Bridge” and “The Sleeping Beauty” increased my interest in theatre design and I hope to study costume design in the future. Studying English has a direct influence on my art, and while I was writing my dissertation on Gabriel Garcia Marquez, I created magical, dreamlike paintings and prints. I am inspired by all forms of art, from Marc Quinn’s “Love Bomb” and Tracey Emin’s quilts, to Rodin’s “The Kiss” and Rossetti’s “Lady Lilith”.

Title: Owl Eyes

Description: I completed this conté pastel drawing as part of a project entitled Autobiography. Within this title, I focused on my dreams which often feature owls. I built on this to use winged creatures – mainly owls and butterflies - to symbolise freedom, both in my art and in my life. I chose to draw Owl Eyes as a development piece and feel it worked very well. I wanted to present magical or surreal things in a very realistic manner and looked to the work of Salvador Dali for inspiration. However, this piece reflects the influence of J.P Walter more, who works in pastels to produce photo-realistic artworks.

Medium: Conte pastels on cartridge paper

Width: 59 Height: 40

Keywords: owl, eyes, owl eyes, feathers, pastels, dramatic