Monochrome mastery
Philippa Murray-Aynsley, better known as Pip, lives with her husband in Mangawhai Heads and is a self taught photorealism portrait artist working in black and white oils.
Interest in art runs in the family as Pip’s mother, two sisters and paternal grandmother have all painted in various mediums. Dabbling in sculpture and pottery over time plus colour still-life paintings for a couple of years, Pip fell in love with working in black and white when she started painting portraits four years ago; firstly in acrylics then moving to alkyd oils. “[The oils] are lovely to work with and have a great blending ability with the added advantage of being quick drying,” says Pip.
The decision to work in black and white stems from Pip’s feeling that it captures the real personality of the subject and enables her to create more depth within the painting. Pip paints people and animals on relatively small to quite large canvas, working on commission and from emailed photos. With each portrait taking approximately three weeks to complete, her favourite part is working on all the fine detail. “I always start with the eyes as that brings the subject to life and the more I progress the more I get to know them. I often talk to them as I paint,” reflects Pip.
Among her recent recognitions are receiving the People’s Choice Award for her entry into The Mangawhai Art Society Exhibition in 2020, and at the Kaipara Art Awards she was awarded runner up for 2D painting in 2021 plus the People’s Choice award for the same work. Pip also received the Kaipara Art Awards People’s Choice Award in 2022 for another of her portraits.
Reflecting on the nature of her work Pip notes that portraiture often means working with images of people or pets that have passed; making her process an emotional and stressful one as the importance that the portrait is painted as close as possible to the provided image is heightened. Despite this Pip appreciates the special and treasured memories these portraits always hold for the person commissioning the work.
In Pip’s opinion the best portraits are the ones that are not posed; quick, casual photos often portray a look or angle that shows the real individual, and painting two people together means amazing interactions between the two can be captured. “Remember these paintings hang on your wall and you want to be able to see that personality jump out at you for years to come,” says Pip. “This can make the difference between just a photo image or an artwork.”
For Pip painting is all-encompassing, she loses track of time when she’s painting and enjoys reproducing that moment in time that is so special to the receiver.
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