Jill Pottle
“My paintings and drawings have been described as expressionist realism. I mostly work in oils, dry and oil pastels, even though other materials enter into my work. I thrive on the interpretation of how realism can be represented. My artwork has life and breath and a sense of time moving forward. Seasonal changes alter the feeling and content of my artwork. These shifts coincide with material usage. Spring and the summer are times of landscape, when the greens are warm and luminous. The dead of winter is time to be studying the figure and still life. While the correspondence is not exact, I find that my desire to work in a variety of subject matter is influenced by the physical conditions under which I work: light, temperature, inside or outside the studio.
The academics of drawing/painting the figure is essential to my art diet. I place my models in allegorical scenarios, which also inspires my relationships with objects. Working from life is essential. Technical drawing only strengthens visual thinking which allows the student to grow and develop ones own language.”
Pottle has been an instructor at the DeCordova Museum School since 1988.
