ANDREA BREWER / FREDERICTON, NB

In her work, Andrea is interested in the juxtaposition of technique, colour, pattern and imagery.  She enjoys working with a messy palette on sometimes untraditional surfaces. Drawing inspiration from her studies in Art History and Anthropology, she mainly focuses on portraiture and pattern. Sometimes the patterns are found within the brushwork and sometimes the brushwork is the pattern. Bold brushstrokes and splashes of colour lend a sense of movement and fluidity that is an important part of her work.

Working large scale is as much about the process as it is about the finished piece. Andrea starts most paintings with loose gestural lines that are quickly rendered.  Often times these fast compositions are unsuccessful and are wiped off, leaving marks and stains behind that become the building blocks for a new painting. The unpredictable nature of this technique is intriguing to Andrea as she tames the mess of each stained mark that emerges.  Somewhere in that process she gets lost in the details,  especially happens when the subjects are animals. Andrea immerses herself in the attempt to hear their voice and witness their condition - as she does her own - in hopes of finding a glimpse, a likeness, of their story to tell.