Artist Sian Pampellonne captures the essence and souls of humans, animals, and insects with raw emotion and vivid colours, captivating the viewer by creating mixed media paintings with acrylics and three dimensional pieces collected.
She is the third generation of artists, growing up in a creative space where experimentation and self-expression was a part of daily life. Guided from a young age by her grandfather who encouraged her to express herself using what she found in and around his studio.
As an artist she is entirely tactile. Everything becomes immersed in the process. Her hands, fingers, any brush large or small, kitchen spatula, tool, even a random piece of cardboard that happens to be nearby.
Found objects of glass from shattered windscreens, abandoned Lego blocks, empty shot gun cartridge shells, fabrics, cardboard, beads, buttons and more become a part of the stories Sian tells. Her art storeroom is filled with these found objects. When she picks something up, she doesn’t always know what she needs it for, but she does know it will eventually be a part of a painting.
Sian is an intuitive artist. This means that she ‘sees’ and expresses emotions through colour. She doesn’t paint in the traditional, realistic style. Instead she looks for what lies underneath the facade and paints the energy that is seen below the surface. The very essence of what the subject is.
At first glance, it may look like she paints portraits of people and creatures, real or imagined but it is more than that for her. Sian processes circumstances, history and feelings by painting subjects against the backdrop of the world that in turn envelops them. Each one of her pieces is about growth and discovery. She asks herself a question and the image that emerges from the feelings is her humanity and emotions responding. The addition of the three dimensional found pieces become an integral fragment of the story.
While her colour palette is composed of red tentacles, yellow and black bees, or haunting blue faces, she doesn’t typically choose these colours ahead of time. The pieces come together while in motion as the muse takes her.
Currently Sian's art is becoming more introspective. The finished pieces have a refinement about their paint strokes that was not there before. She's still painting with the same emotions but she is adding new thought processes and layers to her work which has come with experience.
Sian hopes that her encounters with the world which she put on canvas are thought provoking, and tell a story that pulls the viewer in. Her wish for her work is that it has allowed you to stop and think.
Though her recognizable artworks adorn the walls of many local and international collectors, each one is a piece of her story that will never quite be purged from her innately creative spirit. Her art pieces can be viewed on her website and social media pages, in art galleries across the region, and also at her studio located in Barbados (by appointment).
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