Who are you and what do you do?

Hello I’m Emma McNamara, I’m a landscape painter, sometimes they verge on abstracts.

What’s your background?

In my former life, I was an Interior Designer and Textile Designer. Composition, colour and line have always been hugely important in my work and this has translated into my art practice. I spent my early life in regional country NSW, and I have an innate sense of this landscape. My sense of contrast between rural and urban sensibilities translates through my use of colour and mark-making, the sense of light in my pieces and importantly the composition. Composition is so important as it is truly dictates how you experience a piece. Mark-making is also central to my work- both in the painterly lines and the oil stick marks- they are the emotion and the sensory part of the landscapes.

How do you work?

My landscapes are painted from memories & studies created whilst working en-plein air. Studies are vital to my practice - they are like the road-map of sorts. Colour, composition and the tone of the piece are all worked out through studies. Having said that, the final piece is very much it’s own realised work, and can often differ immensely from the study- pieces do take on a life of their own and you never know what a smudgy line is going to do, or what the work will call for. I try to follow the map, but the road - the canvas in front of me, is always right.

Artworks featured in Sydney Road Gallery
Left: Dancing Gums | Acrylic and Oil on Canvas Framed in Grove | 50 x 50 cm | $545 | More Info
Right: Turon River Gums | Acrylic and Oil on Canvas Framed in Grove | 51 x 61 cm | $595 | More info

What themes does your art pursue?

Every landscape has a resonance, a feeling and a presence. My landscapes are sensory reflections of place. Humans are deeply connected to the energy of the landscape, whether we realise it or not. My pieces serve as echos of memory to help us remember our interconnected relationship with the land.
 

What’s your favourite art work?

I can’t pick one! My favourite artists- who create art I feel most connected to - are Catherine Cassidy, Elisabeth Cummings & Charlie Sheard. Their pieces have an energy that is immersive!

Name something you love, and why.

Travelling! There is nothing more exciting than discovering new places, new vistas, meeting people who live differently to you and eating great food from somewhere you have always wanted to go.

What is your preferred medium to work with?

Acrylic and oil. Oil sticks are so much fun and can convey such emotion.

Bluebark Country | Acrylic and Oil on Canvas Framed in Grove | 31 x 40 cm | $380 | More info