Jennifer Anderson

From her brave approach to sourcing sitters to her unconventional compositions, the Scottish portrait artist does things differently in her shared studio, as REBECCA BRADBURY discovers

- REBECCA BRADBURY

Portraits are painted for a multitude of reasons. Maybe the aim is to depict a subject’s power and prestige or perhaps to capture the more elusive inner essence of a person. Some artists use them as a means of social or political expression, while others are more concerned with exploring how their own psyche connects to those under their gaze.

For Jennifer Anderson, one of the main motivators for painting portraits is the opportunity they present to create a connection between her subject and the viewer – an intention that has led to a variety of unconventional compositional choices.

From off-kilter figures and unresolved edges to forms left unpainted and large expanses of empty background, her various trademarks not only add a visual simplicity to the piece but also remove the subject from a specific time and place, something she hopes makes for a more relatable artwork.

“By taking the detail and information out of the environment the figure is in, the figure becomes timeless,” she explains of her intentions. “There’s not that societal flow around them that causes us to make judgements. That adds to the connection you can have with a figure [in a painting], as you’re not in an obviously different place from them.”