Queensland
My passion is to document life as I see it, always looking for scenes that tell a story that can be interpreted around a focal point. Colour, shape and values and light are key elements in my approach. My main technique involves using large brushstokes in acrylic medium.
Artworks: 79
Eileen Scrymgeour Rigby grew up far away from her current location in the beautiful green landscape of Samford Valley, Queensland, Australia. The North of England lacked the colour and vibrance of the tropics but she discovered that creative machine embroidery and printmaking gave her the opportunity to produce the dazzling colours that her environment lacked. Painting, printing and creative fabric mural work were her majors during her years of art study. In Townsville, many years later she continued working on creative murals and was awarded a first prize in a Pacific Festival Fibres and Fabrics competition. She went on to adjudicate the children’s section of the competition. Travel experiences created a shift in focus: art journaling became a natural progression. With a desire to capture these moments in a more dynamic way Eileen began painting in acrylics on canvas. The fast-drying process of acrylic medium suits her lively style.
She has always loved colour, from the vibrant images of Tahiti by Gauguin, to the softer colours from Degas, Monet and Renoir. Other painters who inspire her are Matisse, Miro, Picasso and Chagall.
The effect of light is vital to her works, with the shadows playing as important a role as the objects themselves. No subject is out of bounds, but the everyday connections are important in her art works: a person with bright scarf flashes by in Florence, elderly ‘nonnas’ sitting on a bench in Rome, a group of local gentlemen by the Seine, a little girl, Beatrice, kicking leaves in Jardin du Luxembourg, a rusty car perched on a hill not far from Samford village – all images worthy of capturing on canvas. Her style is said to be impressionistic: a snapshot of life.
Other subjects include flora and fauna from life in and around her two acre garden, and in the beautiful surrounds of Samford Valley and compositions from objets d’art collected in the studio. Painting and teaching are her passions in equal measure with a dose of French added to the mix. Eileen’s brushwork can be fast and furious or controlled, depending on the subject and complexity of the work.
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