The cropped image in this round panel is luscious, with a rich application of intense red and green paint. The bum cheeks are in a caress, pushing into each other...
The cropped image in this round panel is luscious, with a rich application of intense red and green paint. The bum cheeks are in a caress, pushing into each other the same way faces do when they kiss, and creamy highlights add to this sensuous surface. We feel implicated, peeping at this intimate moment as through a keyhole.
Tomlinson's paintings are layers of deep personal meaning and cultural or art historical references, which invite multiple readings acknowledging the nuance in the discussions she initiates. With characteristic humour, this painting uses literal cheekiness to underline something we were not supposed to see. We are both caught in the act.
The artist’s process includes digital collage from primary and secondary sources, which she writes into and sketches over. This screen-based beginning is then scaled up and playfully allowed to shift, as the composition and material textures start to work together on the canvas. By positioning the bum cheeks with strong grooves and curves Tomlinson creates a physical caress, where the impasto paint deliberately intensifies the visual experience to draw the viewer in.