About My Work

Paintings

My paintings emerge from several sources – childhood on my father’s farm, the beauty of nature and impressions from my travels round the world. They grow layer by layer in a process which can go on for a long time. Often the final layers of forms and colours reflect present impressions of the world about me.

Woodcuts / Watercolours / Reverse Glass Paintings

The woodcuts and watercolours reflect a more rapid process in which improvements are not always possible and the attempt sometimes ruinous. My new venture into reverse glass painting is for me a thrilling experience in sensitivity. What I see in the process of painting is quite different from the view through the glass. Corrections are only possible here through the removal of paint.

Metal Objects

Here I venture into the third dimension. Spaces open up and close again. Colours, textures, stripes painted on different materials produce changing vistas and images as the onlooker circles the object. Frequently the title hints at the source of inspiration.

Plaster Objects

As with my paintings the plaster objects evolve through the fusion and joining up of elements. For moulds I use fast food containers. These are filled with plaster and joined together, after which the whole form is painted and decorated with wood, wire or rope.

Wooden Objects

Three dimensional structures emerge here from the juxtaposition of the remains of woodcut plates to create new contexts.

Renate Selmayr