The Ghost Paintings

The Ghost Paintings
Rosemary Sloot
June 1-12, 2022

Satellite Project Space
121 Dundas St
Gallery hours: Wednesday-Friday 2:00-7:00pm, Saturday 12-5pm

Artist Statement:
I began this series of paintings with several self portraits that were details of my face and hands, holding one of the brass rings that my late husband, David Magee, used in his paintings. From there I revisited plant based imagery, which I had not used since the early years of my career, in the 1970’s. I focused on the kind of lilies my grandfather used to grow in The Netherlands, for the parish church, and also orchids. Then I included the still life objects that have been my mainstay.

My works have always been highly illusionistic but with this series the images lack specificity, are out of focus and quite abstract in some cases. My hope is that the viewer will be drawn into the painting where the subject comes into clearer focus and reveals itself. With some images it will require stepping back to see the whole from a distance. In the case of the pastels on black paper, the viewer may be drawn towards the light as the image emerges out of the darkness. Some of the paintings are done on paper hand made by Dan Mezza. The thick rough surfaces add depth and richness to the image while at the same time sabotaging the illusion and fine detail that have been typical of my work.