Before Jordy Hewitt developed her signature immersive and illuminating painting style, she was a regular attendee at life drawing classes. Inspired by this creative outlet, she enrolled to study Fine Art, and she’s been painting with oils in the 10 years since.
Although her pieces are abstract and fluid, life drawing remains at the essence of Jordy’s work. The shift in style came when Jordy realised she could still explore and translate the ‘energy’ and ‘unseen subject or moment’ in a room, without having to deliver it through figurative motifs of faces, heads and bodies.
Jordy says oil paints are the perfect conduit for this; ‘the depth of colour and the sensuality feel superior,’ she explains. Layering generous quantities of paint, she also uses a wax medium (for body, opaqueness and blending), resulting in a wonderfully textured and tactile canvas.
With the use of big brushes, oil sticks and her own (gloved) hands, her works are often as sculptural as they are painterly.
Working quickly, Jordy says she often manages to finish a large work in one session, but the process can be intense, and at time ‘empties her out’. At other times, works can take longer to process, but the slow-drying nature of oils means she can return to a piece over and over again, allowing the image to come together intuitively.
Although there isn’t a set ‘subject’ in her work, Jordy says, ‘I think of my paintings as a colour bath, a soup, a petri dish, or a bird’s eye view… I like to find a new flavour for each series of work.’
Her latest exhibition, ‘Daylight’, is a kaleidoscope of 13 large works in saturated warm hues — a ‘reclamation of her own contentment.’
See ‘Daylight’ at 17 Blinco st, Fremantle, from Friday June 23 – Sunday June 25th, and view the catalogue of works here.
