ABOUT 

Born in Great Yarmouth and raised in Plymouth, Sianan Bunt is a contemporary artist whose practice focuses on the human portrait. Having studied BA (Hons) Painting, Drawing and Printmaking at Plymouth College of Art, her work is primarily driven by the presentation of painted portraiture and in particular, how they can engage and convey emotions to the viewer.

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Heavily influenced by colour, the aim with her work is to create harmony between both the portraiture and the brushstrokes applied to the surface to portray the mood of the portrait. Rough texture can create more of a negative atmosphere than a smooth blended texture would achieve. To amplify this into context, Bunt puts the presentation of her work into consideration by leaving elements of the work left incomplete compared to others. Designed with the aim of guiding the viewer's gaze of where to look, it also brings forward character in her signature style. 

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Working in a traditional approach, the surfaces Sianan use are often pieces of found material,  unlike the stereotypical approach of the canvas. Paintings tell a story, it can tell a lot about the artist, their thought processes, the materials used, the surface of which it rests on and the journey it has prolonged to get to this stage. It is these considerations which drive Bunt forward with her work, as many of her pieces are on found pieces of wood or slate which have been aged and decayed with time.

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“Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.”
― Oscar Wilde,