Elizabeth Magill was born in Canada, but grew up in Northern Ireland. She studied at Belfast College of Art and at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. Her working method at the time of the work in the Collection was made relied on computer scanning. The found image was taken to a commercial processing lab to be scanned to a scale dictated by the artist, and the image then sprayed onto the canvas. In the studio the works were overpainted here and there with oil paints to provide highlights and contrasts.

Glossary

  • Canvas

    A piece of cloth woven from flax, hemp or cotton fibres. The word has generally come to refer to any piece of firm, loosely woven fabric used to paint on. Its surface is typically prepared for painting by priming with a ground.

  • Oil

    A medium in which ground pigments are mixed to produce a paste or liquid that can be applied to a surface by a brush or other tool; the most common oil used by artists is linseed, this can be thinned with turpentine spirit to produce a thinner and more fluid paint. The oil dries with a hard film, and the brightness of the colour is protected. Oil paints are usually opaque and traditionally used on canvas.

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