Zoe James- Williams is a welsh artist living in Swansea on the Gower coast. Zoe is
especially well known for her ballet and figurative paintings she became the
first artist in residence at Swansea Grand Theater in Sept 2009. She also teaches
art class in the Ostreme centre ad Swansea.
Zoe’s pastels
and watercolor paintings of ballerinas and dancers have proved to be very popular with a wide audience. She has been enchanted by the world of dance since
she was a little girl. As an artist is drawn to the dancers exquisite beauty
and grace gained through years of dedication and self discipline, as she aims
to bring out these qualities in her work.
One of her favorite subjects to paint and draw is the ballerina. ‘‘A ballerina masks her strength with beauty, yet undeniably it is
still there.’ - says Zoe! ‘’When you see them rehearse day after day, striving for
perfection, this quote is so true. It is this powerful combination that seems
to embody the women who I try to capture.’’
Zoe’s Techniques:
Zoe likes to portray the female figure in its own intimate world, as if you are
looking through a keyhole into a private moment. Their enigmatic quality is
accentuated by her use of a limited palette, usually in watercolor or pastel,
so as to concentrate on the drama of light and shade to create a dramatic and
striking image. she uses classic costumes or white muslin for draping to give
her pictures a timeless quality as well as focusing on the line of the body.
Zoe experiments a lot with watercolour, pen, pastel and oils. She also
uses different colored pastel papers. she particularly like using red for the
drama. she thinks that probably comes from influences of Asian art with their
strong colour and line.
Influences
Zoe’s artistic influences include Degas and Toulouse
Lautrec with their wonderful use of pastel and their talent in
capturing the unguarded moments of their subjects. She also look to Dame Laura
Knight, the first female to become a full member of The Royal
Academy. She painted a variety of subjects, including life in the theatre, and
her backstage drawings and paintings really capture the atmosphere of life behind
the scenes.