Dottie-may Aston Dottie-may is an artist living in wales who sculpts both paint and clay using her imagination and observational skills.
I have been lucky enough to exhibit my sculpture, Bullion Murex, at Gallerie V, Cambridge, for the wonderful exhibition, Mythologies, Monochrome and Chiaroscuro, ending December 14th!
I am very grateful to be exhibiting alongside the wonderfully talented artists in this show!
Gallerie V is a nonprofit gallery that supports artists aged 14 – 25.
All images are protected under UK copyright law.
A closer look at my work in the OBJECTS exhibition at Blackwater Gallery.
Open for public view until 02.09.22
About my piece
Fememento was derived from an idiosyncratic fascination with objects and the regular questioning of beauty standards and ideals. Responding to themes of existentialism and body dysmorphia my work expresses a sense of calm fragility. Merging the physical forms of molluscs with the female human figure I hope to gently draw attention to the way in which the conscious mind’s self-deprecating aspects of criticism perceives the body as an object. I am captivated by the way in which self-criticism serves as both a means of progression and deterioration. The vacant shell formations of Fememento can be symbolised as a pass asylum for a life yet often serve the purpose as decoration. The human element relates to this sentiment by giving a comparative and mirrored narrative. The human body functions as a tool, vehicle, armour, yet often becomes an inanimate form of decoration and visual pleasure. Exploring the perceived beauty and tragedy of both forms I have constructed a trophy-like object.
All images are protected under UK copyright law
I am very pleased to share that Mucosa is part of the Mid Wales Arts 2022 Climate Change Exhibition in Caersws. Available to view – 5th June to 7th August 2022
Dottie-may uses oil paint without turpentine or any alternative thinner. She stopped using toxic liquids after discovering the detrimental effects they have on the body and environment. By stopping the use of toxic materials, she developed her techniques for a more organic handling of the oil paint.
Mucosa is symbolic of the fragility found in nature. Too often the beauty of nature is taken for granted, cast aside, and thoughtlessly consumed. Molluscs often occur as a motif in Dottie-may Aston’s work – in Mucosa we see a nymph weeping over the carcass of a shell. By compositionally inverting this nature deity, the focus is drawn to what remains of the small sea-creature’s home, which is a metaphor for our own fragile habitat.
In recent months I have been working on a large painting, Ovum Nymphs, which proved to be a challenge. It had been hung a prominent spot in my studio where it was easily viewed but ultimately was over contemplated. Yesterday I realised that its presence had started to sicken me, so I placed it in storage with the hope that it will give me the head space that I need to focus on my other pieces.
The studio feels refreshed without the painting’s door-sized presence. My struggles with this canvas were partly due to not being comfortable working on this large scale. The sheer amount of paint used makes it discouraging to rework once applied — the background alone is made up of two large tubes of white. After using up all that paint before thinking that maybe it would be better a different shade, my relationship with this painting soured. Giving myself distance from this painting will allow me time to lay aside any negative feelings I have for it. In due course I will be able to rework this painting with a fresh mind. Although I do not dislike this painting in its current state, I have not brought it to a satisfactory conclusion and, I am unable to understand how I can improve it at the moment.
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I am happy to share that The Banquet has been accepted into the Vacant Museum‘s virtual exhibition, Cravings.
Curb your cravings! Feast your eyes on the delectable female figure laid out for your sole enjoyment. On-the-bone sumptuously plump idea of emaciated perfection. Starve yourself no more!
That was my response to the exhibition brief What do we want, now? What fuels the viscous cycle of wanting and wasting that defines our modern world?
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A closer look at the works accepted into the Agored 2021 exhibition by Galeri Caernarfon.
(04.12.21 – 15.01.22)
Mynediad, Von Restorff, and Nascene of Nostalgia.
All are oil paintings on aluminium panel
Janus
Air-drying clay
I am very grateful to of have this opportunity. Below is my artist statement for the show.
Dottie-may Aston is a painter and sculptor based in Anglesey. She has an idiosyncratic fascination with objects. Interested in how we impose sentiment onto otherwise everyday items, she created delicate personalities within the light-hearted motif of seashells. The paintings and sculptures convey how a memory can become the object itself.
All images are protected under UK copyright law
In this journal update, the conceptual side of my degree paintings Nascence of Nostalgia will be discussed.
My degree-show paintings, Nascence of Nostalgia, are depictions of the birth of memory associated with an object. The human form is the representation of memory, how through a slow labour it develops within objects, to the extent that, when viewing an item, all that is seen is a memory. The use of objects with figures shows the necessity that mankind imbues objects with memories and emotions. Shells represent wombs that birth a nostalgia imitating the form of a humanoid that will eventually surpass the shell. The beginning piece of the series shows a glimmer of what is to grow from the shell. The last painting in the suite depicts the fully developed memory.
The anthropological element of Nascence of Nostalgia is integral to the concept. The anatomy is not intended to be exact. It is a suggestion of the human form painted from imagination, as is the shell. Representing memory in human form, these paintings silently convey the emotional attachment humans hold to objects. Memory is held within the viewer. It is not for me to strictly dictate what should or should not be understood by these paintings. This way, the viewer can make their interpretations, picturing an object of their own that holds memory.
While Nascence of Nostalgia depicts the birth of a memory, Moribund of Memory is symbolic of sentimental decay.
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Moribund of Memory portrays the gradual decay of sentiment.
My sculptural work began with an interest in natural curiosities. I have had a lifelong attentiveness to the remains of fauna. My muses, most commonly found while roaming the Welsh countryside, were the remains of animals. But since living in a coastal town I progressed from making sculptures with skulls and bones, to create an amalgamation of mollusc and human. Made with air-drying clay I consistently work over layers that gradually form the figure. Without being drawn from directly, these sculptures have influenced my degree paintings.
The perception of shells is intriguing to me, in some ways they are no different from skulls, yet they are usually regarded as a happy and almost naïve decoration. I find that depicting shells, as opposed to the more obvious remains, adds an obscured complexity to my work. Underneath the facade of naive pinks a shell could be seen as the equivalent of a human skeleton, yet they are often used as a sea-side home ornament. Most commonly taken home for its ability to evoke memories a shell will retain sentimental value as part of the home environment.
Three of these sculptures were exclusively made with air-drying clay. While the one above was created with the addition of a shell. I started her at the beginning of my degree. Now that my university experience is about to end, she is complete.
All images are protected under UK copyright law
The use of a sea creatures’ home for my inspiration has been a slow engulfment. Although using this inspiration for a time, it is recently that I realised my paintings are imitations of shells. This muse first found its way into my work with the Mollusca Femella series. Moving on to using a smaller scale I started to paint the surreal depiction of a shell thinking more of the attachments to objects rather than the material. Working on this smaller scale achieves a more intimate experience that exemplifies the feeling behind an object rather than the visual quality.
Painting in lockdown made me look at innominate items, such as shells that are often acquired in admiration for beauty, but once collected they often become ignored. I am interested in why we find attachments in objects that do not necessarily have a high monetary value. We pick up a little slimy sea creature skeleton as ornamentation from our memory of the beach. Because they retain such sentimental value to us, they hold this meaning when they are involved in important events in our lives. How valuable possessions are often only so, because of their provenance. This interest brought me to paint a surreal depiction the birth of a memory. Attached in this post is some of the paintings that brought me to muse upon the retain of sentiment.
All images are protected under UK copyright law
I have realised most of my artistic skills have been learned through trial and error. For example, while painting the Molllusca Femella I faced a skirmish with the background tone due to my lack of confidence with light colours – as I mentioned in the article Thorn in my Background. After painting the subjects, I darkened the backgrounds using blue. Subsequently the subtle colours were overpowered, and the focus of the painting became unclear. After many frustrated applications of paint such as experimenting with gold, red and yellow I ended up painting the background blue again. A long period passed until the realisation that the background does not have to be a dark colour hit me. The reason the painting did not feel right was because I painted the subject on a canvas primed with white Gesso. Slowly, I started to make the blue lighter. It is only recently after submitting them to be marked that I have the courage to whitewash the backgrounds. When myself and my partner Jonathan, were enjoying a panad in our living and studio room, I became side-tracked from our conversation when viewing the Molllusca Femella series. The feeling to paint them overwhelmed me “Am I allowed to work into those paintings?” I mused aloud. “Only if you let me paint with you” replied Jonathan.
Below is the video of us painting the backgrounds white.
The knowledge taken from this experience has been a valuable one. I have taught myself to paint the background before the subject to ensure that the painting is tonally harmonised. I have also realised the obvious, each painting has a different growing time. While some are done in one sitting, others like these, feel as if they will never be finished.
Go visit Jonathan’s website here.
Dottie-may Aston