L. Kay Cotton

Artist's Statement


Background

From 1990 to 2007 I lived in the flat, cornfield countryside of Indiana, USA. Before that, having traveled a great deal, I had lived in Derbyshire, Bristol, London, the West Midlands, Denmark, and Texas.

While at university in Bristol my parents, sister , and grandparents moved from Derbyshire to West Cornwall, moving my childhood and home-base with them.

Consequently West Cornwall became my “home”; the place to return from traveling. Instead of the idyllic summer playground it had been, it was now a place of peace and creativity; a sanctuary.

St. Ives has always been the golden city, the halcyon village I would dream of while buried under three feet of American snow; the community I always hoped to return to one day; a space to paint, relax and revive.


Collages

The sea, sand and sky inspire me as they have many artists before. Maybe it is conceited to think that through my beaded collage work I see these land or seascapes differently from other artists.

My background is in fashion/costume/textiles, having taught for many years. Included constantly in these teachings were the words “observation”, “light”, and “interpretation”. Perception is different for everyone, so I will not explain each individual piece. The titles suggest my observation and you may interpret the collusions quite uniquely.

The inspiration comes from light and reflections; fresco painters of the Renaissance; theatrical costumes from artists such as Eiko; the painter Gustav Klimt; the designer Gianni Versace.


Paintings

The oil paintings are my attempt at catching the light and personality of my surroundings. While sitting on the beach painting St. Michael's Mount, it became obvious to me that due to tide,clouds, sunlight,and human beings,that the view is constantly in flux. The colours, light, shadows,movement, are forever changing. One day to the next is never the same; the gardens, beaches and villages take on new characters in the winter, like putting on an old favourite winter coat.

The paintings, particularly the smaller more detailed ones, are therapy for the brain. They channel my focus and prevent the Parkinson's Disease from taking my soul. I do not tremor when painting.


Collusions or Combines

A collusion is an agreement between two or more entities. A combine is a mixture of two or more entities. Both could be nouns used for the collages, however in organizing the work for the exhibit, I saw the startling contrast between the collages and the paintings; and realized that I too was a collusion or combine. A happy mixture of arts and crafts with an agreement to indulge both passions.

Inspiration

Don't get me wrong: Klimt has probably always inspired my work in costumes and paintings.  However, the thing that inspires me the most is the human spirit.  People who enjoy doing what they are doing are the most inspirational.  They get up early in the morning and do as much as they possibly can with a passion.

Passion

Passion, I think, is an obsession with something or somebody one loves. I have been passionate about art since I was a child.  I don't believe people should teach unless they are obsessed with their subject, passionate in their beliefs.  This then becomes infectious and gives the pupils the unquenchable thirst for more.  I can never learn enough about seeing or applying what I see to the canvas.

Knowledge

Knowledge is a gift that can be given or received continuously  throughout life.  I continue to collect knowledge by traveling, looking, listening and asking questions. The knowledge soaks in to the skin like the sun. It systemically moves through the body until it finds an outlet. The inspiration, passion, and knowledge come together in all o us in different ways.  In me it emerges through the eyes and hands and onto paper, canvas, fabric. It doesn't matter if you don't see what I do or agree with it, it is purely emotion and escape.

Objectivism is the philosophy developed by the Russian-American philosopher, writer, and novelist, Ayn Rand (1905–1982).[1] Objectivism holds that reality exists independent of consciousness; that individual persons are in contact with this reality through sensory perception; that human beings can gain objective knowledge from perception through the process of concept formation and inductive and deductive logic; that the proper moral purpose of one's life is the pursuit of one's own happiness or rational self-interest; that the only social system consistent with this morality is full respect for individual rights, embodied in pure laissez faire capitalism; and that the role of art in human life is to transform man's widest metaphysical ideas, by selective reproduction of reality, into a physical form—a work of art—that he can comprehend and to which he can respond emotionally.