Meet our Cover Artist: Pilita Bryant
Meet our cover artist, Pilita Bryant, who specialises in Abstract Realism. Pilita channels her energy and positivity through her free-flowing work, drawing inspiration from the natural world, including her local surroundings in the Surrey Hills. Find out more about Pilita’s journey to art, her favourite mediums and the inspiration behind the artwork that forms the cover of our new What’s On brochure!
Can you tell us about yourself and how you became an artist?
Becoming an artist later in life feels like my third career and a return to my childhood passion. I was born in England but grew up in Australia, as an only child, where the beautiful outdoors was my entertainment and playground as well as inspiration for my imaginative drawing. My mother was a dress maker and I spent much of my time drawing my fashion designs and dreaming of being a fashion designer. When I was 13 we moved back to England and I would spend long summer holidays in north western Spain, my mother’s homeland, where my passion for the beauty of wild seas and rugged coastlines grew.
My fashion designer dreams diminished as practical career decisions took over and I pursued a career in Human Resources Management. But the niggling need to create never left me. In my late thirties, after the birth of my son, I left the corporate world to study interior design and then embarked on a different, more creative career path. After about 15 years I felt a strong drive to immerse myself in the world of art full time, so I started taking short art courses and an 18 month Masterclass in Abstract Expressionism. My own artistic style and language evolved, tentatively at first, becoming more free flowing and experimental as my confidence grew.
I now dedicate myself almost full time to my art and was involved in my first exhibition in 2019. I exhibit primarily in Surrey and Hampshire and also sell much of my art directly to collectors.
What inspires your artwork?
My art is very much inspired by my emotional response to the world around me, as well as drawing on deep memories, which for me are extremely vivid, both visually and emotionally. Because I create my art spontaneously and intuitively, my feelings are more important to me than a physical representation. I like to capture movement, an energy, perhaps even an inner pulse in my work. My childhood influences of growing up in Australia and then experiencing my mother’s homeland of Galicia in northwestern Spain, both played a very big part in my deep connection and feeling of the natural world. Sometimes my inspiration is closer to home and as simple as seeing the change of the seasons in my garden, going for walks in the Surrey Hills or along nearby rivers, or sometimes just feeling the weather around me. I would loosely describe my art as Abstract Realism, usually with a positive and energetic feel.
Do you have a favourite art medium at the moment?
At the moment I’m really enjoying more fluid mediums. I recently returned to my first love – watercolours – used in a non-traditional, more abstract way. The reason for returning to watercolours was twofold: the first reason was feeling the need, over winter, to create quieter, more meditative art and the second, to explore the flowing, merging, granulating properties of watercolour. I really felt the need to test how I could fully use the medium in my Abstract Realism/ Expressionist work.
More recently, my meditative watercolours have become more energetic and experimental with the addition of high flow acrylics and inks. And sometimes another old favourite, collage, creeps in…just to add more depth, texture or another dimension to my work. Experimenting with mixed media is something I love – not worrying about rules and just making my own discoveries.
Your beautiful work ‘Garden Jewels’ is our new brochure cover. What inspired this artwork?
‘Garden Jewels’ is one of my classic experimental mixed media pieces, totally inspired by spring in my back garden. My north facing woodland garden (where my studio is nestled) is filled with different coloured foliage and not many flowers. So on a damp spring morning I gathered collage papers , both found and some that I’d made, and started assembling them, layering acrylic ink in sections, finishing with white and gold acrylic pens. I was working spontaneously and automatically, feeling the changing weather…rain and wind one minute and sunshine the next. I let this piece evolve with little intentionality, then took control with adding details towards the end.
Who is your favourite artist or art movement?
I’m very inspired by the art movements that pushed the boundaries of the traditional art world, especially Abstract Expressionism where representational art was replaced with spontaneous, emotional expression and gestural brushstrokes. The post Impressionist, Vincent Van Gough, is also an artist that informs my work. His brush strokes, mark making and use of colour were extraordinary and I’m drawn to his sense of movement and energy. Paul Klee (first half of the 20th century) is another favourite artist of mine – experimental, inventive, and a colour theory pioneer. His work was varied, drawing on Abstract Expressionism, Cubism, Surrealism, dreamlike imagery and the language of symbols. I love that he interpreted new art trends in his own way. His art encourages me to be more experimental and to continue working towards discovering my own artistic voice.
Do you have any upcoming projects you can tell us about?
I’m continuing the development of my creative practice and enjoying the recent organic evolution of some series of works. For example, looking back at my work towards the end of last year many of the pieces had a cooler, winter feel. I mocked up a display of the works in my studio and decided to call it ‘Winter Stories’. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to hold a solo exhibition of this collection at a new art gallery in Weybridge. Recently, my abstract watercolour landscapes have formed a body of work I’ve called ‘Shifting Horizons’, suggesting a tension between the stability of the landscape and the constant movement of the elements.
This year I’ll continue on my experimental creative path. I have so many themes running in my head as well as ideas for different mediums and styles to try. I hope to further explore abstraction and the simplification of forms, shapes, lines and patterns in the natural world. I want to also look at introducing some geometric, urban elements to my art, to contrast and juxtapose with my more organic and fluid style.
I will also continue my involvement with local, community art. This year I’m involved in managing the Weybridge Kids Art Festival in June and I’m exploring the possibility of organising a broader Art Festival in Weybridge next year.
How can we access your art?
Keep up to date with my latest work on Instagram. Anyone interested in my art, to view or to enquire about availability/price, can contact me via email: pilita.bryant@gmail.com. My website will be soon be updated with my recent work.
Checkout Pilita’s artwork ‘Garden Jewels‘ on the cover of our What’s On: April to September brochure and while you’re there, why not browse our events? There are over 140 to choose from!
