Mairi Strachan

My work is a drawn interpretation of what I see – whether something found in my kitchen or seen in the landscapes around me. It is also my representation of the human form when it is arranged and still.

Still life drawings are observations of objects set out in front of me. Each drawing seeks to understand the structure of the object and how to honestly represent it in that space; a translation from the 3 dimensional to the flat page but still retaining as best I can the integrity of the original.

Various studies of trees started as a continuation of this process – being initially less concerned with their setting in the landscape than with their individual forms, which seem so similar to human bodies. I have used different materials to try to find ways of explaining their unique characteristics. Gradually I have started to become more interested in the landscape itself and look for compositions of shape, light and shade: these might be more or less realistic or abstracted.

I have drawn the human figure off and on from childhood. I work mainly in charcoal as I find it versatile for finding the strong lines of limbs but also the soft forms of skin. Life drawing feels like a collaboration with the subject as I interpret their pose; each life study presents a problem-solving challenge of scale and angle.