Emma Hopwood (McAdam-Marmont)
In 2016, Emma and her husband Struan took the plunge and left their Melbourne advertising lives to move to Daylesford and paint full time.
Today, acrylic and spray paint fill her canvases, using tools such as pallet knives, spatulas & sponges. It is a love for texture and motion which guides Emma in her work to finish with a piece that has layers and movement.
Emma is organised, with an eye for detail. Her paintings are soft, more interior, tonal and introspective. Her ‘suits’ explore the way the corporate world’s uniform changes subtly from the formal to the informal for younger and older wearers and for women – although that requires attention to detail. The buttons are on the left not the right. These works are gritty and textured.
Her more recent nudes are an exploration of the posture, curves and line of women’s bodies. She combines photography with painting. A photo shoot sets up the images she wants to paint. The paintings are partly driven by her own feelings of modesty and privacy. The work is intended to empower steering away from the more erotic gaze. It is subtle, rather than confrontational. She explores the curves and lines of bodies in different postures and poses. It’s tonal shadowed fabric and skin.
Emma says she is more influenced by conversations and social observation than by art trends and images. Her work feels more interior and introspective. She experiments with linen versus canvas, different brushes, tones, curves and poses. Emma and her husband Struan often collaborate together with different subject matter. These collaborative works enable to pair to create really exciting playful and interesting works that challenge and hardness their individual styles.