Allyson Reynolds

Question  Moths became the focus of your pictures in 1997 after observing night time gatherings of moths upon windows. The moths that lay dead in the sliding track became your inspiration for an intriguing subject matter. The ink drawings and paintings that followed were about the physical nature and movement of moths.

You have become interested by the minute scales covering the moth wings; the moth 'dust’. Looking at moths, do you see designs on insects as an infinite source of abstract shapes where their camouflage and markings inspire a relationship to the nature in abstract painting?

Response  The ‘scale’ paintings begin with this microscopic view of the moth’s wings. The structure of the scales which form the wings and how these scales are arranged and overlap added a new dimension to the subject matter. The infinite source of marks, shapes, colours, and structures inform the work.

I am not concerned with reproducing these images in a scientifically accurate way.

Question  How do you construct a painting once you have looked at a moth, and does the painting take a directional shift once painting begins?

Response  The image is the beginning of the subject, but the process is really the subject in a sense. The physical aspect of making the painting takes over, the scale of the canvas starts to dictate what the composition becomes. The movement of the brush and the way the paint flows becomes the focus of the work.