The Maker
Janine Partington explores mark making through the carving and painting of leathers to create distinctive and appealing surfaces. Extensive experience in other craft disciplines, including enamelling, bookbinding and embroidery, have informed Janine’s decision to focus on the simplicity of the process. The visibility of the hand of the maker is important to Janine and she is constantly developing her distinctive visual language – experimenting with marks, composition and colour. She loves the freedom of working instinctively, each mark responding to the presence of what has come before.
The Object: By the Sea, 2018
Unframed 29 x 29 cm, framed 33 x 33 cm. Leather and acrylic paint. £320
The Making
This piece is inspired by Janine’s childhood memories of trips to the seaside, walks on the beach, the warmth of the golden sand under her bare feet, picking up and collecting pebbles along the way. It is entirely made by hand, carving and painting the leather panel.
Janine Partington on her Signature Style
‘This piece shows how I use mark-making to define forms, the way that both positive and negative space can create a tactile surface. My use of colour is also well illustrated here, blending and contrasting colours which not necessarily true to nature, but which still invoke the natural world. This also is an example of creating connections between people through my work, tapping into shared memories to create a relationship between the viewer and myself.’
Expert Eye
Such unusual use of materials and textures: this is distinctive and absorbing work that benefits from repeated viewing. Adam Thow (Historic Royal Palaces)