Dorset

JILL MIRZA       ‘Pleasure Boats Hut’     Acrylic on Canvas      2013      8 x 8 inches   20.3 x 20.3 cm

Although the painting is small it explores a sense of scale and depth. The hut is the dominant focus because of its size and strong colour, but is placed over to one side so the eye is drawn to the figure of the small boy in brilliant white against the sea and to the distant view of Swanage Pier beyond. The painting uses strong contrasts to convey the feeling of heat and brilliant light.

Artist:         JILL MIRZA      Title:   ‘Punch and Judy’       Medium:   Acrylic on Canvas       Date:  2010      Size:  20 cm x 20 cm       Frame:  25 cm x 25 cm

A traditional and gaudy feature of the beach in Swanage, the Punch and Judy kiosk with its decorations, stripes and vivid colours draws the crowds,. In the painting the play of horizontal stripes on the windbreaks and ripples on the sea balance the dominating vertical stripes of the booth. The elaborate decorative top is picked up by the shapes of the Isle of Wight cliffs in the background. The light puppets against the dark background of the stage are balanced by the dark heads in the foreground against the red and white stripes of the kiosk. Horizontals and verticals, dark and light contrasts, bright colours make for a lively image.