Midge Naylor

Midge comes from a town on the Firth of Forth east of Edinburgh and although she has lived in the West Country for more than 30 years the landscape of her early life with its mining and fishing industries has always had a strong influence on her work.

Writing about two aspects of her painting Midge says: ‘Lately the idea of a painting as a material object with a concentrated presence has become a big concern. In a complicated world of digital image-making and mechanical reproduction, there is to me a particular pleasure and emotive quality in a surface layered, scraped, rubbed and brushed. A haptic element increases the imaginary potential of the surface which can be both utterly physical and ethereal.’ She adds: ‘A finished work isn’t just the product of an accumulation of paint and other substances but the result of constant editing and adjustment until a formal “rightness” is achieved. I know what this rightness looks like but I’m at a loss as to how to get it most of the time. An experimental and to some extent intuitive approach has drawbacks and working on paintings en masse helps continuity and can soften the impact of losing a piece. I love Basil Beattie’s use of a cricket analogy – he describes the painting process as “bowling down the corridor of uncertainty”.’

Midge completed a BA Hons. Fine Art degree at UWE in 1994, and currently works at BV Studios in South Bristol. She has exhibited in the RWA Autumn Exhibition yearly since 2006, winning Best Regional Artist Award in 2007. She also showed in both the Open Paint and Open Print exhibitions at the RWA and exhibits in numerous gallery and open submission shows including the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Paintings and prints are held in UK and overseas collections.

Website: www.midgenaylor.co.uk

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