Personal Branding Session with Brooke Fitzsimons | Artist
Brooke Fitzsimons | Artist
Brooke Fitzsimons, worked as a graphic designer in magazine production in Sydney for 10 years before she moved to London permanently in 1988.
She has a BA in Fine Art, from Chelsea College of Art (2001), and a Masters in Research in Arts Practice, from Chelsea College of Art, London (2013).
After completing her BA, she set up and worked in an artist-run studio and exhibition space in London – which ran from 2003 to 2012.
She has exhibited in London and Sydney and has paintings in private collections in the UK, Europe, and Australia.
Brooke now works at Excelsior Studios in Park Royal, London. She is part of an artist-led team establishing Park Royal Gallery,
where the growing community of local artists and makers show in inclusive ‘open’ exhibitions in re-purposed warehouses in this industrial area.
ABOUT HER PRACTICE
Collecting printed images and her own photographs as references, Brooke starts with tonal underpainting, building up the colour and the images with transparent oil paint glazes.
The human figure reduced to a silhouette, linear architectural forms, irregular natural shapes, and luminous colours, are all borrowed from and used to represent the beauty of the physical world.
Working in layers with simple images allows her to make wholly new compositions. Her practice is influenced by a former career as a graphic designer in magazine production,
knowledge of printing and photographic processes, yet made by hand with the most traditional of mediums – oil paint on linen.
‘I deliberately set up formal oppositions: abstract versus figurative; man-made versus natural; hard-edged versus soft-focused.
Rather than making the painted surface either abstract (all about the painted surface) or figurative (a ‘window’ into a three-dimensional space), my aim is to make the surface appear to be both at the same time;
to provoke a ‘play’ between the two oppositions: so that abstraction and illusion are held in an oscillation, where neither is dominant. Then the surface becomes an active threshold – an equivocal, playful field.’
I met Brooke over 2 decades ago, and she played a crucial role at the start of my career, offering invaluable support and opening many professional doors for me.
I wouldn’t be where I am today If I wasn’t given the headstart at the onset of my career.
One night while I was photographing a music gig, Brooke hoisted me onto the stage to get better portraits of the musicians!
When planning Brooke’s personal branding photo session, she sent me some ideas of what resonated with her, and then I put together a moodboard of ideas so that the day would flow smoothly.
I am in awe of her art, and the calm, peaceful energy at her London studio.
Are you looking for a beautiful art piece to add a splash of luxury and colour to your home? Here is a link to Brooke’s artwork: https://www.brookefitzsimons.com/viewing-room/
