Art - Phyllis Hall

Artists have been offering up their creative output to the glory of God since time began. Yet it still came as something of a surprise when this month’s featured Chalk Gallery artist, Phyllis Hall, cited her inspiration in such a divine source. “My work is all based on God’s creation”, she tells me. “It is a response to the wonder and beauty and magic of God’s world”. Phyllis has been a committed Christian for most of her life and, for her, the medium of art is a way of bearing witness to those beliefs. “For me it is very much a celebration of the feelings that God’s world provokes in me”, she tells me.

Phyllis’s work divides into two distinct artistic styles, I am told. The first series of works she produces are abstract landscapes, in oil. “These are all drawn from my imagination”, says Phyllis, “They are inspired by fragments of poetry. They’re all about how I see God’s world”. The second technique she uses is an acrylic wash with an oil-based motif behind. “This sort of work is influenced by artists like Mark Rothko, and I see them as pictures for contemplation”, she tells me, “I am interested in the way that the artist creates something that each viewer will have a perception of that is particular to them - so it creates a kind of communication.” Being something of a devout atheist I fear my communications with the paintings are far less theological than the artist would like them to be. I like the colours though. ER