Jane Kelly
"I am fascinated by the nature of evil. I attribute much human catastrophe to problems in early childhood and within families. I like to project my ideas backwards to look at the past and ask: What if?
For instance, the Roman emperors almost all had abusive, chaotic childhoods. Hitler could only feel intimacy and trust with animals, not people. Like Myra Hindley they projected their inner torment outward with terrible results. I like to imagine them in different situations with all the monster stripped away.
I am also currently working on some religious paintings, to see if that kind of narrative is possible in this secular age without becoming sentimental or mawkish. It is almost impossible to paint religious figures convincingly. My painting, ‘In the Juvesence of the year came Christ the tiger, shows Christ, as a tiger, being mocked by TV celebs, Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross, and by the pusillanimous Archbishop of Canterbury.
I am also working on some themes from the Lamentations of Jeremiah, linking them to my own life as a lone woman, a woman who still misses the salary and the lifestyle she had as a successful journalist! On the other hand I am proud to pauper myself and paint.
I also enjoy painting with purely painterly ideas: nudes, still life, landscapes, seascapes. I relish oil paint - nothing can top it.’
For instance, the Roman emperors almost all had abusive, chaotic childhoods. Hitler could only feel intimacy and trust with animals, not people. Like Myra Hindley they projected their inner torment outward with terrible results. I like to imagine them in different situations with all the monster stripped away.
I am also currently working on some religious paintings, to see if that kind of narrative is possible in this secular age without becoming sentimental or mawkish. It is almost impossible to paint religious figures convincingly. My painting, ‘In the Juvesence of the year came Christ the tiger, shows Christ, as a tiger, being mocked by TV celebs, Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross, and by the pusillanimous Archbishop of Canterbury.
I am also working on some themes from the Lamentations of Jeremiah, linking them to my own life as a lone woman, a woman who still misses the salary and the lifestyle she had as a successful journalist! On the other hand I am proud to pauper myself and paint.
I also enjoy painting with purely painterly ideas: nudes, still life, landscapes, seascapes. I relish oil paint - nothing can top it.’
