W&N materials used
Artists’ Water Colour,
Cotman Water Colour
About Jane Foale
At Winsor & Newton we find working with artists on new and unusual projects is one of the most inspiring parts of our business. We strive to keep up with the latest developments in the art world and so when Jane Foale approached us with her project we jumped at the chance to find out more. Jane's exploration of the relationship between paint pigments and geology is both scientifically progressive and artistically inspiring.
As a geologist and artist, Jane has successfully brought together the mesmerizing beauty of the minerals found in the natural world with the wonderful and colourful possibilities of paint. To successfully parallel the colours found in minerals and artists paint, Jane used Winsor & Newton Artists' Water Colour, the powerful single pigment colours meant that the characteristics of the paint were far more evident.
"My involvement with Winsor & Newton is the result of my combined interests in geology and artists' materials. In the last few years these have come together in a surprising and dramatic way. This has given my work a very specific focus and led to a rewarding collaborative project with The Cliffe Castle Museum in Yorkshire.
Born near the Derbyshire Peak District and taken as a child to the Castleton caverns, I was given an early introduction to the substance of the earth. Later, as I started to develop my art practice, I found I was more interested in the materials and processes of making art than in any particular subject matter. Quite suddenly I realised a connection between these preoccupations and that this was what I wanted to explore in my work. At about this time I met the artist and mineral collector David Walker Barker. Through accidentally breaking one of David's mineral specimens a curious series of events unfolded which dramatically concentrated my artistic interests.
A chance visit to Cliffe Castle Museum in Keighley, West Yorkshire proved to be another turning point. Their mineral collection is mesmerising so I made contact to explore possibilities. What developed has been a most enjoyable residency culminating in an exhibition and range of interpretative activities. A highlight has been the satisfaction of working with teachers, children and others and opening their eyes to fascinating aspects of the natural world and the wonderful possibilities of paint.
As my work explores analogies between the mineralisation process and pigment behaviour it requires a wide range of high quality, single pigment paints. Winsor & Newton Artists' Water Colours were therefore a natural partner. The combination of their expertise and the opportunity of reaching a very diverse audience through the Museum has made this a particularly interesting and rewarding project."
For further information on Jane Foale visit:
www.janefoale.net