Artist Statement

‘Art has always been my guide and has never let me down’

My paintings are a reflection of myself, my surroundings, my feelings and emotions, my daily connections to women and my relationship with my mother. I absolutely love colour and texture, it is at the core of all my work whether an abstract, nude, or contemporary female face. I work in various mixed media including oils, acrylics, charcoal, inks and I incorporate many textures and glazes, sometimes I play with collage. There are usually about 7 layers to my paintings, each layer holds a back story and a history as the painting unfolds. I use poetry (often my own), words from a novel, symbols or images which become lost as the layers develop. This is where the energy and depth to the work develops being the parts of the painting that only I know about. I paint intuitively using bold colours and brave brushstrokes along with textures and glazes. My work reflects the beauty of the living world and the people within, peppered with a mildly feminist element where the duality of women’s strength and vulnerability is explored. I often am confronted with the voice of my mother and this also comes through metaphorically in my work. I am also privileged to run creative art workshops from my studio in Spain helping women to get a little closer to understanding themselves through the media of paint where I can draw upon my own life experiences as I teach.

My career began when I studied ‘A’ Level Art History after I left school and I followed this up with a foundation course which led me to University as a mature student with 2 young children. I studied printmaking and fine art qualifying with a BA(Hons) from Reading University, UK, in 1990 and from there my life changed. I never actually considered myself an artist until I sold my first painting from a local gallery and the realisation that I could actually connect with another person through my work was so strong I was hooked and knew what I wanted to do. My marriage was empty and lonely and I spent long periods alone so threw myself into painting, absorbing everything I could about art history and the painters who led the way. Inevitably my marriage ended and I struggled emotionally and fought depression for a while but my painting actually saved me.

I am always learning and growing, every new painting moves me forward a little more in my personal journey, I cannot imagine my life without art.

I also love poetry and sometimes use it as inspiration for my work which can be influenced by my own poetry or that of others. I had a book published in 2019 called ‘I AM…’ which contains 22 images from my warrior women series and a poem written by my daughter. It also supported a solo exhibition of the same name in the UK in 2019.

I always say that ‘painting keeps me sane’ – truer words have never been said

Stephanie Goddard, Artist
b. London, England, 1961

‘It is important to remember how beautiful our natural world is and I take my inspiration from everything I see around me expressing this through the medium of paint, texture and words. I am inspired daily by the realities and wonders of nature and our world. I see everything in bright vivid colour and paint with a positive attitude. My work has an expressionist element, I aim to capture the feeling and the beauty that I find in our natural world by painting not only what I see, but also what I feel.

‘Colours are like words to me’