Gerard Tunney

Gerard Tunney, Theatre Dressing Room, Original figurative painting

Gerard Tunney is represented by Wychwood Art online and in our art gallery. He says "Most of my work is influenced by experiences of working in the theatre and I use theatre based subject matter as a source for my paintings ; this includes ballet, Shakespeare, poetry, myth. I am particularly interested in the theatres capacity to transform and change these subjects through the use of costumes, make-up, lighting etc. This creates all sorts of abstract possibilities within the work and is an endless source of fascination for me. The paintings can depict dancers going about their backstage routines or can be heightened by more theatrical subject matter, such as poetry and myth. I think that it is the diversity of the subject matter that attracts me the most and the fact that it never ceases to provide fresh source material for my work. Most of my paintings are acrylic on canvas which combines the spontaneity of watercolour with the sturdiness of oil paint. Acrylic dries fairly quickly which generates an immediacy within the work as it progresses. This way, the painting always retains the element freshness that I am trying to capture. Other paintings are oil on canvas which are glazed to try and achieve a rich jewel- like quality.