Laura Beveridge
Laura is a twenty-two year old café worker from Dingwall, Scotland. She has been making art all her life and is inspired by pretty much everything. She has created art projects exploring a range of subjects, including dancers, landscapes near her home, portraiture, and everyday scenes from her work in the café.
She chose to do the Portfolio Course for fun and to develop her skills, and has loved every single day of it. Building on her work at Bridge House Art, and with help from the tutors, she has applied to go to university to study art this year. Laura enjoys swimming, playing the viola, watching TV with her housemates and going to the pub for “market research”.
Personal statement
My work is a celebration of joy and of life. I am drawn to bright colours (as you can probably tell) and I love focusing on facial expression and body language. I enjoy the challenge of trying to capture the essence of a person without putting down every single detail - how few pieces of paper can I use and still have it read as my sister, or my friend? As I work I’ve tried to include less and less information (where having blurry iPhone photos as my only reference actually comes in handy) and reduce the image to the bare essentials, while still keeping a sense of life and energy. I tend to start with a small painting to practise my shapes and proportions, and from there move on to a larger collage.
Although I generally prefer to work from life, this series was done exclusively from photos. I used my own candid photos of my friends and family that I’d taken in the pub, so all the expressions are genuine and real and raw, which hopefully comes through in the pieces. I want the viewer to get a sense of the atmosphere, the movement, and all the bright lights, and to feel like you're there with them. It’s not about the alcohol itself - I was designated driver the night that I took most of these photos and I still had a wonderful time - but the feeling of being surrounded by people you love and just getting lost in the music. We could be hanging out in a muddy field playing with sticks and I'd be having just as much fun. It’s all about the company.
These works feature my mum, my dad, my sisters Fiona and Anna, and some of my incredible friends. It has been a pleasure to paint and collage them all. As I work I’m reminded of the funny moments, the sweet moments, the catastrophic moments and most of all, how much I love these people. Often while painting I’ve been sat with a big goofy grin on my face.
