Born in 1966 in Wolverhampton, Judith Shaylor left school at 16 to study at Bournville School of Art, where she studied for a Btec, specialising in textiles and ceramics. She then went on to gain a BA Hons in drawing and painting at Edinburgh college of art, where her subjects were tapestry and print-making. Today she sees herself as a multidisciplinary artist, although painting and drawing are a big part of her practice. After 20 years of living abroad, she decided in 2019 to move back to Edinburgh and became the founding member of a Scottish women's collective called Abstractionistas. She works as a full-time artist in a studio in St. Margaret's house/ Palette and is busy building her practice.
Artist Statement
I always start a series of new works through drawings and collages; from these initial beginnings, I go on to create small painted studies on paper or canvas board in acrylic paint and ink. These small painted studies help with composition and act as a guide to the palette I choose once I start to work on the finished canvases.
My latest series of works- which all come under the heading 'Inner Battles', focuses on personal mental health issues manifested through recent and past events, such as infertility, grief, and family estrangement. Even though the drawings, collages and paintings produced from the "Inner battles" series represent a period of great sadness and mental upheaval- the use of abstract and surreal representation of inner feelings and the choice of quirky, colourful and often amusing imagery is deliberate.These artistic decisions mentioned act as a juxtaposition of optimism against darker emotions and feelings. These resulting contrasts set up a dialogue with the viewer, who will initially react to the paintings in one way, and on closer inspection, will question what they are viewing.