Victoria Jane Cooper

Artist statement

Like most children, my interest in drawing and the environment started when I received a colouring book for Christmas and I guess I just never put it down. I have always had a strong interest in 'drawing on the natural and manmade' and thinking about the origins of things, how they got where they are? when? why? etc. As an adult, my curious nature means I am now able to combine my personal insights and my skills and knowledge as I move through life.

Initially, the aspect of drawing I was most interested in was exploring 'drawing in the expanded field', what can a drawing be? how? when? why? which lead me to writing essays and poetry around the subject. Certainly, I am always present to and keen to see a wide variety within drawing today. In 2011 I received a commendation from Aesthetica for my poetry and since then I have moved into a close relationship, almost communion with the environments I visit, writing and drawing as I go.

As a reflector, I haven't always taken pleasure in thinking about the sense of the place I'm in right now. I've tended instead to look back. Living in the now is important to me, as is the journey onward from the 'point of now', I wonder where it is all going? Where I am going? Often the answer to this question is unexpected, but, there is I believe an underlying order here, we can see this order by tracing the past, in a rock for example.

As a teacher, drawing and art are a part of my daily life. This means I can see my life as lines that run across and through my art. I am a private person and I often find myself drawing or writing poetry in remote environments, alone using the media I have to hand. The attention and contemplation I afford my work has often lead to far wider resonance and connotation for others, which I always enjoy.