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Olivia Irvine

Edinburgh
I paint with oil, egg tempera and fresco. My subjects are part autobiographical and part fantastical. I am interested in the area between figuration and abstraction.

Statement I paint using oil, egg tempera and fresco. I am interested in the way an image evolves from a combination of thoughts, ideas, memory, research, flights of fancy and the actual dynamics of the picture- making process. Much of my imagery is figurative and of seemingly ordinary, yet surprising, aspects of my everyday life. I include objects, my family, my home and places I have been. I become fascinated by the awkward and poetic moments of life, but also like to take them beyond the ordinary and into something more theatrical or filmic. I have recently started to paint in fresco- pure pigment on a fresh lime plaster and am fascinated by the contemporary relevance of this ancient technique. I am particularly interested in the polished frescoes of the Roman era.

Career Path- Qualifications: 1993 MA, European Fine Art, Winchester School of Art, Barcelona, Spain 1986 Diploma in Postgraduate Studies in Painting, Edinburgh College of Art 1985 BA Honours, In Drawing and Painting, Edinburgh College of Art

Teaching Experience:2011-now, part-time lecturer at Office of Life Long Learning, Edinburgh College of Art (now University of Edinburgh) 20112-2016- tutor and social media animateur, Open College of the Arts,1994/11 Evening Class Tutor and Summer School tutor, Edinburgh College of Art -1994/00 Part-time Lecturer, Drawing and Painting, Edinburgh College of Art -1995/96 Part-time Lecturer, Fine Art, Grays School of Art, Aberdeen -1994 Visiting Lecturer (one day), MA European Fine Art, Winchester School of Art. Areas of work: Adult education Curating Exhibiting Lecturing Workshops Collections: Abbaye de Saint Jacut, Brittany, Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh Lancome, Madrid, Spain Glasgow Museums, gifted by BBC Scotland City of Edinburgh Council University of Stirling, Scottish Arts Council bequest Paintings in Hospitals, Scotland

 

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