Working mostly with oil on panel, Mary Jane Ansell paints realistic portraits that have an etherealness and vulnerability to them. Notice the light and shadows in her work and the backgrounds she paints her subjects in.”I find it fascinating to explore the way light can be used to focus attention on certain details, or to conceal others,” Answell says. “Colours, contours and textures are more clearly defined by the play of light and shadow, and become as symbolic and loaded with meaning as any other element in the work.
“A reoccurring theme in my work is the editing out of environment – to allow for greater focus on the central character and the objects they interact with.”
