Details

Drawn from collage, cut-outs, vintage palettes, and digital illustration, Kathryn Macnaughton’s paintings respond to — and inform — the many and converging concerns of the moment: permanence, fragments, history and its ephemera. Soft Body is a series of unique hand-embellished prints that were created with oil pastel and acrylic paint. Patterns are hand drawn into the bust of the figure to add playfulness and texture as well as make each piece entirely unique. In some of the works, the patterned modification of the torso resembles a swimsuit, while others feel more like body armor through dense colorblocking. Inspired by the female body, portraying movement is important to the artist. “I’ve been doing work like this since I started school. I like the idea of putting sexual liberation in my work. The female figure is very important … the shapes that are created. When I studied illustration I also did graphic design, and I think a lot of the influence comes from graphic shapes, which take on the shape of the female form.”

“These hand embellished prints were created with oil pastels and acrylic paint. Patterns were hand drawn into the bust of the figure to added a playfulness to the prints. Some can be seen as swimsuits, while others look like body armor. An abstract approach was also taken for some as well as colour blocking to alter the colours of the print.” - Kathryn Macnaughton