Edinburgh based Isabelle Bryan’s work is energetic and gestural, centering around mark making and the human form. Isabelle looks to reflect the mood of her current circumstances in her art – working from home throughout Covid 19 has allowed her to embrace a sense of escapism. With no access to make canvas stretchers, she found inspiration in wall hangings and tapestries, so painted directly onto draped and loosely hung unstretched canvas.
“The movement and fluidity I express in my drawings and paintings is something I am proud of and want to enhance as I move forward.
The process of mark making and the rhythm of drawing is something I have considered within my latest work, as well as how words and writing can be incorporated as a form of drawing, providing texture, pattern and structure to my more abstract pieces. This way of drawing with words is something I have been experimenting with; I have really enjoyed the pieces I have produced.
Much of my recent work has been influenced by the female form and derives from life drawing as well as other artists’ drawings and paintings. Some of the most impactful pieces of art for me have been simple line drawings, such as those of Jean Cocteau and Matisse as well as more current works by artists such as France-Lise McGurn and Faye Wei Wei, whose style is beautifully fluid and simply. I have wanted to interpret the female form in a way that is empowering and representative to me as a woman. I have looked to create work that does not sexualise or objectify the female form but celebrates femininity and its strength”.
Isabelle graduated with a BA(Hons) in Painting from ECA 2021. We featured her work in our ‘Best of Scottish Art Schools Graduate Show 2021’.
