Nostalgia and Longing: Art by Jill Tompkins
Jill Tompkins uses drawing, painting and printmaking techniques to express themes of nostalgia and longing. Her artworks range from pure abstraction to portraiture, sometimes combining the two disciplines to create strange, symbolic images.
An Apple, a Pear and a slice of Lemon, oil on canvas
It’s interesting to see the variation in styles throughout Jill’s portfolio. While sometimes the artist strives toward realism, other works look specifically at the materiality and color of the paint. I like Jill’s abstract works – the paintings tend to involve cascades of light, pastel-like colours, occasionally interrupted by pools of dark grey or deep blue.
The front page of Jill's website
These pale colors carry through into Jill’s still-life works – in one piece, for example, a row of apples is depicted with an almost grey, pale pink hue, a departure from the bright red or green that one might expect. The faded aesthetic reinforces the idea of nostalgia in Jill’s works, creating the look and feel of very old, sun-baked photographs.
