Artist research: Wilhelmina Barnes Graham

Wilhelmina Barnes Graham was a Scottish abstract artist born in 1912 in St Andrews and died 2004, she was a member of the Penwith society of arts. 

Grahams piece 'Glacier' painted between 1951 and 1977 is an abstracted scene of blues, greens and whites blending and merging with each other to create the image of an imposing ice structure. the darker blues and highlights of white allow a sense of depth and perspective within the work and I think that the use of blue and green help to invoke a cold, chilling feeling throughout the painting. When looking at this piece I think that the harsh and jagged line that make up the face of the glacier paired with the pale tones of the sky create a bleak and desolate feeling within the work. The front of the left glacier looks as if it is crumbling apart and the over hang of the right seems precarious, as if it could fall at any moment. Which I think provides in interesting contrast to the work, that something so large and seemingly formidable is also fragile. I believe that all of these things work together to invoke an empty and and almost melancholic feeling through the piece, it's lonely and solitary. 

When looking at this piece, Gurnards Head, 1947, I am initially struck by the overwhelming use of grey within the work. I think that this creates a heavy, almost smog like aspect to the image. It feels overbearing as if it weighing down on the rest of the scene. I love the sense of depth within this piece, I think that the crooked houses are cartoonish and characteristic, like I am looking at a scene from a pop up book. The darker shades of brown allow there there to be a contrast to the pale greys and white and I think that this provides a slightly warmer aspect to the work to draw the viewer in. I find it intriguing how empty the houses look, as if the have been abandoned and I believe that this acts as a storytelling point within the image. The viewer will look into the windows and wonder if anyone is there, what's going on in each house or if these homes have been left behind. I think that the seagulls in the distance add to this atmosphere of abandonment within the piece, they are turned away and seem as if if the are fling away from this small village, finally leaving it empty.