IN THE STUDIO
This show has
really opened
my eyes... I’m
tackling things
in a completely
different way
One such idea that Ania intends to
paint soon came when she happened
to walk past a bingo hall and became
captivated by the glowing neon sign
and the happy women congregated
outside. Not only did she photograph
the exterior for use as reference, she
also went back to play. “I thought I’ve
got to experience bingo if I’m going
to paint it – and it was actually really
great. You’ve got women sat there by
themselves, all dressed up with their
pints of beer, and that’s really
confident because I wouldn’t do that.”
“This show has really opened my
eyes to doing things I’d probably never
really paint before and I’m tackling
things in a completely different way,
so it’s exciting for me at the moment.”
With ideas for paintings in place,
Ania will then work with her sitters to
test out potential compositions. The
pose of a person or an unusual angle
can usually provide the starting point,
before other elements can be
introduced, like a chair or a plant.
Clothing is very important too.
The artist is quite prescriptive with
her sitters, selecting coats and boots
for their colours and angles. “It’s all
just about shapes really,” she says.
“I don’t [chose to] paint a figure
because I’m trying to capture that
person, sometimes it is just about the
composition or the perspective or the
colours that I am using. I never really
think ‘that’s a great face to paint’,
I could sort of paint anyone.”
It’s a surprise that Ania views her
subjects in such an abstract way, not
Artists & Illustrators 39