MY MUSE - ALEXANDRA TYLEE

Who is my Muse? Before I sat down to answer this, I thought it would be easy, obvious. But now that I am here, I am not so sure. My great Aunt Marion is kind of My Muse. She studied at the Slade Art School in London in the early 1920s and in Paris 1937 which must have been fabulous. Growing up we were surrounded by her still life paintings which were very much of that time, and I loved them then and still do. 

Virginia Woolf and her sister Vanessa and in fact the whole Bloomsbury lot have always had quite a large chunk of my heart. My Uncle Charles left a lot of his books with my father when he moved to London age 20. And most of these were by and about different members of the Bloomsbury set. I read and reread these books, and they gave me a hint at a world which I felt very drawn to and at home in.

And while I don’t look directly to their art for inspiration it is their aesthetic and the keen strength of their intellect, imagination and passion for life that has influenced me, and I guess there for my art. 

But I would have to say nature is my greatest muse, the curve of a petal, the sun falling on a particular flower in a certain way.

The natural world is still a huge mystery to us and also a great teacher. It’s fragility and its strength the beauty of a flower that may only last for one day.

When I am feeling out of sorts, I know that if I go into the garden and lie on the grass very soon, I will feel quite different, calmer more centred and happier.

Since I was a little girl, I have never got over my amazement and awe at the beauty and power of it all. And actually, how important it is that we recognize this and respect her.

So that is why for now anyway I choose to paint the way I do and try at least to capture some of this, so others can see what I see and feel what I do.

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