There’s a fluidity to Andrea Shearing’s art, both in terms of subject and medium. Located at a crossroads between sculpture and painting, her work has both realistic and abstract elements to it. Clearly inspired by water, the movement of the ocean waves, cascading waterfalls, and icy glaciers, Shearing follows its organic, if chaotic, flow.
“I am interested in exploring the fluidity of water against the firm resistance of hard rock,” she explains on her website. But though inspired by this fluidity, as it clashes against the rock, Shearing notes that her work isn’t meant to be representational or realistic.
“My mission is to explore the emotional symbolism of something like a broken egg in a nest,” she explains. “This for me represents the tension between birth and death, the purity of simple form in contrast with nature’s complex structures and designs. The fragility of the shell which can beak and shatter versus its strength to encompass life and growth. For me, this echoes our own psyche and emotional being; vulnerable – strong, fragile – enduring, brittle – tenacious.”
Her work process is in and of itself, fluid, following her chosen subject. “I work very carefully, thoughtfully considering composition and juxtaposition of tones and colors,” she says. “I spend time choosing my palette very carefully as this is the platform from which I build the timbre and mood of the piece.”
You can see more of her work on Instagram.
