Tania Rutland

Tania's work explores the balance between representation and abstraction. Her long standing interest in how human activity has shaped landscapes, is her inspiration for  landscape painting. 

She explores this effect of human interaction in her work, from ancient agricultural practices to modern industrialization. Each epoch has left its mark, weaving a complex narrative of adaption and transformation across the countryside.

She endeavour to reflect the profound impact of our collective presence on the land and her paintings indicate a 'humanized countryside', where patterns and repetitions of tracks, paths, and abandoned remnants intertwine to create a multifaceted story of history and memory.

In her work, disused paths, broken fences and desire paths carved by both animals and people visually represents the interplay between natural and human forces. These elements become the centre of her compositions. 

The ever-changing weather and relentless movement of people over millennia have sculpted the landscapes she paints, breathing life and history into them. It is this continuous transformation that inspires her art, capturing the beauty in the marks left behind.

The concepts behind her art are translated through artistic practise of oil painting, using the time-honoured 'fat over lean' technique. The surface is gradually built up using thin layers of paint, building depth. Each translucent layer contributes to a rich, luminous finish, capturing light and shadow.