Toni Armstrong, figurative painting from New Zealand

When I am working in abstract, I tend to have a theme that is current in mind. I find objects that reflect that thought and disassemble and reassemble using shapes. It is very organic and when it reassembles it is always in the form of the original subject matter.

I work with watercolour, oil, pastel and some acrylic. Over the years I have developed methods to blend these mediums, helping give my art an unique look and feel.

I am a figurative artist. My work is naturalistic or referential, having emotional and expressionistic overtones. I see my themes as investigative and try to develop them through specific drawing and colour processes. This is important and formative to my art. Some of my ideas are derived from traditional art practices. I work in several media.

I am inspired by images of the impressionist Degas, the realists Manet and Coubert and the colours of impressionists Gauguin and Cezanne. I am deeply interested in the history of Venetian colour, in particular that of Titian. My latest portrait was inspired by Coubert’s painting. I feel moved by his work to explore portraiture in my current environment.
Toni Armstrong
Nov 7, 2018

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