Harriet Bane’s carefully constructed compositions of wildlife and rural landscapes continue to evolve from her early training in theatre design. Minimalism played an important role in the arts at the time, so ensuring each element of the ‘set’ was relevant and cohesive was a vital part of the creative process. This same discipline is used in her painting today, working and reworking the background of the composition to get the right landscape as her starting point.
To form the paintings surface, the artist applies layers of plaster on board to build texture, followed by a layer of acrylic paint on which the watercolour is worked. Layering in this way allows the artist more flexibility with the paint, enabling her to ‘build it up or wash it away.’ Bane’s work is influenced by the artwork of the 19th century recorders of Natural History, in particular John James Audubon.
Harriet Bane (b.1958 in Bath) now lives and works in Guernsey. She trained at Wimbledon school of Art, where she received a BA (Hons) in Stage and Theatre Design.