Jayne Curle: A Paradox with a Paintbrush

Art Lovers | 24 February 2023

Written by Amelia Pontifex

A self-described “paradox with a paintbrush”, Jayne Curle’s art aims to express what words sometimes cannot, to show the presence of something while also highlighting the lack of or need for something.

Raised on a diet of music, Salvador Dali, sharp wit and French cuisine, Jayne Curle in my interview with her, tells me how music and art have always been part of her DNA. Jayne was raised in 1970’s Glasgow by her artist mother and drummer and business owner father. Before travelling the world and meeting her husband, Jayne was in a band and poured her heart into song writing.

Jayne Curle

Predominantly working in oil paintings based on photography that she’s taken; Jayne explores surreal landscapes and figurative scenes. There is both a permanency and a temporality to Jayne’s works that capture the fleeting moments and fleeting emotions of her subjects. The idea of capturing a temporary emotion in a permanent and lasting way is intrinsic to Jayne’s practice.

Pie Eating Cyclist (Kirra) | 30.5 x 30.5cm, Oil on canvas

“We all experience a range of emotions, and we have no idea what other people are going through or thinking. It’s so important to me to capture that, because I know that something in the image, whether it’s a facial expression, a mood or just the essence of the image, something will speak to the viewer and might evoke an emotion that we both connect to.”

The Insanity of Perfectionism | 122 x 91.5cm, Oil on canvas

Sharing experiences, talking and connecting with each other and through art, contextualises Jayne’s practice. Jayne’s latest body of work focuses on the eight different types of intelligence and an undercurrent theme for a need to overhaul the global education system. The current system, she believes, needs to evolve with us and evolve with societal needs. This need for change and connection comes through Jayne’s work as she portrays the current situation with sometimes bizarre and surreal juxtapositions. These opposing elements can represent wider social disparities and the need for them to be questioned and modified.

Fat Nan’s Jenga | 79.5 x 103cm, Oil on canvas

“Why can’t we connect with our children and discover their strengths from the outset of their life journey, then tailor their education based on their innate intelligences? Surely the product of this would be that future generations thrive, fulfilled and content because they’ve chosen the correct careers based on their strengths, passions and interests? Is it a dream of pipes? Maybe.”

Spilsbury Sky | 122 x 183cm, Oil on canvas

Her technique involves taking photos where she feels connected to the scene and to the moment and uses her own emotions as a guide to capture others’. She will edit the images by reducing the opacity and decreasing the contrast, making the image appear in more of a ‘sepia’ tone. Then painting in oil, she’ll play with the elements and juxtapose the background from the figure, object or subject matter.

Amaze | 79 x 79cm, Oil on canvas

“Empathy for others, making sure people connect with each other and hearing their life stories, it’s all so important to me and important to do through art. If we stopped and listened to others and opened our tolerance for others, we might have a more rounded idea and frame to contextualise our lives.”

Shit Got Real (Burleigh) | 152 x 76cm, Oil on canvas

It was through Jayne’s successful participation in a number of art prizes and exhibitions and being nominated as a semi-finalist in the Doug Moran Portrait Prize in 2021, that she realised based on the feedback she was getting, that for many her art was both a tool of therapy for herself and for those viewing her art.

Elysian Sunrise (Palm Beach) | 30.5 x 30.5cm, Oil on canvas

“It’s always been important for my work to connect and reach something in a viewer, but it is also the process of creating and making something with my hands, whether it’s music or art, it’s so important for my own healing. That ‘creating by doing’ idea whether it’s making music or art, it’s doing the job that words sometimes cannot.”

The Datsun and The Sphinx | Ltd. Edition Print

There are a number of influences that Jayne notes as impactful on her practice such as Caroline Zilinsky, Ben Smith, Marian Quigley, Peter Howson and Patrick Caulfield among others. Drawing on elements of a number of these artists, Jayne’s works can be seen as uniquely based on three main themes, that she hopes come through her art but maybe too are evoked in the viewers. the need for connection, compassion, and conveyance of that through opposites.

“Connection is integral to a happy life. Without connection we cannot give or feel compassion and like me, a walking paradox, opposites can be good together. I have many facets that are self-contradictory. In more current work, I’m looking at how this can be expressed through pops of colour and sepia tone landscapes.”

Heading To Nook (Burleigh Hill) | 101.6 x 76.2cm, Oil on canvas

This contradiction is also expressed through Jayne’s play with contrasts, colours and methods. Like a car on a beach, a sphinx emerging from a sand dune, Jenga blocks growing from the sand, or a crowded scene where only half the figures are present. It’s through Jayne pushing the boundaries of what we expect to see, what we hope to see and highlighting that lack of something, that we can develop a sense of connection, longing or even humour towards the works.

Rubik’s Rock | 103 x 79.5cm, Oil on canvas

Not only in the slightly bizarre pairings of elements, but through the symbolism of elements, like the Jenga blocks, a symbol of a structure that only takes a few missing or loose pieces to collapse, or the symbolism of the beautiful yet rough seas, or ancient sphinx’s in contemporary scenes, there are many symbolic as well as literal references to the calm and the chaos. Opposites that rely on each other. The sepia tones, the warm colours and the heat that can be felt through the works, only adds to the longing for that warmth in human connection and showing the need for it.