To make her paintings move. That was the idea in early 2021 but where would it take her, wondered Tenterden-based artist Rowena McWilliams?
Movement through compositions has always intrigued and played an important part in Rowena’s art. Aged 20, she remembers being fascinated by Rogier van der Weyden’s Deposition, which uses dramatic drapery to convey movement and emotion.
Animation software now allows her to ‘paint’ real motion into her work, increasing the inherent movement and enhancing the meaning. Rowena is not aware of anyone combining physical and digital art in quite the same way.
Icelandic Waterfall was the first moving painting that came together and Rowena was making the moving parts of the painting (water and clouds) literally move. In Marsh Mysteries she wanted the movement to add to the meaning and mystery. Then, in A Walk in the Woods, she was deliberately trying to create a sense of moving through the trees on her daily lockdown walks.
Much recent work has been about the environment and Coastal Erosion was inspired by the work happening at Cuckmere; the software allowed her to show the waves undercutting the cliffs and the cliffs slipping into the sea. Icelandic Waterfall was inspired by a visit to Iceland where she heard that soon there would be no waterfalls left due to ice melt from climate change.
These moving paintings will be on show at the Wing Gallery in Wadhurst from Friday, April 1 to Saturday, April 9, alongside the original oil paintings.
The software is used with high-definition photos of the original oil paintings and the resulting moving paintings are being sold as one-off stand-alone pieces, with their display equipment. They are unique and come with a certification of ownership.
The artist supports treesisters, to help mitigate the environmental impacts of her work.
Image Credits: Rowena McWilliams .