A virtual journey to Vicki Sullivan's Studio
Approximately 22 Members joined the Zoom Meeting with Vicki Sullivan in her Rye Studio.
As a young mum Vicki bought land in the North and friends helped to build her a house. The walls were lined with silver insulation paper, she had no power, no running water and the toilet was a shovel. Sadly, the house burned down but she held onto the land for another 12 years.
Finally, when she decided to sell the land Vicki had enough money for her studio
She designed and had her current studio built. Vicki based the design on the studios of Hans Heysen and Fiona Bilbrough, was given a fabulous large window that was placed high in the Southern wall, installed lighting, and running water in the same size space as her utopian house.
Vicki’s art practice is based in the realist tradition with a passion for 19th Century portraiture. Vicki is particularly interested in the palette and compositions of French artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905). When I googled the artist and saw several of his paintings, Vicki just happened to show her audience a work in progress that was a Bouguereau that I was looking at. Asked what she did with all the copies she produced, Vicki explained that they are for her, they are part of her ongoing self-education and hang in the studio for reference.
As she toured us through the various spaces of the studio, we were introduced to a range of boxes, specifically designed for still life, areas for life drawing, for portraiture and for composed model dioramas.
Painters were in awe of her collection of brushes and a plan file where she stores her oil paints.
Currently Vicki has six oil paintings in progress on easels, consisting of study copies, a commission, and her planned works for upcoming exhibitions.
Technically, Vicki was very generous in passing on painting hints, colours used and canvas board preparation.
She reminisced on her study in Italy, showing us through a book that she had had made to her specifications, that is still used for small drawings and oil paint studies.
We had a most enjoyable walk-through, via Zoom. Many questions asked and I am sure we all gained a terrific insight to her art practice.
