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Emma Copley

Newmarket
Emma Copley (b.1979, Dublin) I was born in Ireland, grew up in the United States, and live and work in the UK. My paintings – on wood panels, perspex, and paper – explore personal experiences of isolation, love, and connection.
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I was born in Ireland, grew up in the United States, and live and work in the UK. Glimpses of the everyday and human connection are ongoing threads within my work. My paintings and books – on wood panels, perspex, and paper – explore personal experiences of isolation, love and connection.

Each painting is inspired by my everyday life: a dark sink full of dishes with the sun coming in the window, or my daughter wrapped up in blankets on her bed. I work from personal images and also use found photos and historical references. I print and fold the printed images I work from. Using the printed image as a starting point, I create the composition and eliminate areas from the image in order to intensify the emotion. Sometimes I tear up paintings and rearrange them to create new compositions, or turn them into books – this has become an important part of my process.

I paint in layers with thick oils on wood and smooth, flat gouache on paper. My paintings begin with muted tones, mixing greys tinted with primary colour, ending with an infusion of bright colour that relates closely to these. I spend a lot of time looking at my palette and mixing groups of colour. Brushstrokes vary between smooth, slow, thoughtful marks and fast, thick layers of paint. When using oils, I paint quickly with brushes and a palette knife – spreading globs of paint on a smooth hard surface, wet into wet, carving out forms and building up texture. The recognisable parts of the image and the texture of the thick paint draws you in, while unfinished areas allow your eye to complete the image and the smell of oil holds your attention. 

My largest works are 14 metres long and the smallest are 15 x 22 centimetres. I am drawn to working on accordion books, giant sheets of watercolour paper, wood panels, and with window motifs.  I am influenced by figurative and abstract approaches to painting and depicting the figure and my daily life. I am interested in how techniques like distortion, fragmentation and layering bridge these approaches, and how they can be used to symbolise different states of being like joy and trauma.

 

Swimmers on top

Coming back together

Crouch

Nana

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DRAWING CLUB: FLOWERS

Thu, 14th May 2026 Where: Axis Community
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