Mary Jane Ansell
Artists & Illustrators|August 2018

The figurative artist tells NATALIE MILNER why she loves to create haunting pictorial narratives in her paintings.

Natalie Milner
Mary Jane Ansell

When did you know you wanted to be an artist?

I bought my first set of oils at 14. I was so desperate for an easel, I made a table-top contraption from some wood I found in my dad’s shed. I’ve learned through trial and error, picking up whatever I could from galleries, books and magazines such as Artists & Illustrators. I’ve always been a people-watcher and love to try to capture that ineffable thing that is the person. I did an honours degree in illustration at Brighton University because I love to explore narrative and wanted the challenge of different mediums and projects, as well as access to world-class practising artists and a life model.

Tell us about your painting process.

I paint directly, almost alla prima in parts, with Old Holland, Gamblin, M Graham and Michael Harding paints, and Rosemary & Co brushes. I prime an aluminium composite panel with a tinted acrylic ground and sand until it’s perfectly smooth. Starting with a simple drawing, I map out the image, then go in with a fairly limited palette, building colour layers.

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