Daisy Harcourt
From Mrs Dalloway to Jo Sweeting, Women & Word is a celebration of the lives of female writers and literary characters. Daisy Harcourt explores the unique discourse between artist and writer alongside a fascinating series of portraits featuring contemporary women, each sitter with a personal connection to the written and spoken word.
We took a bit of time out to find out more….
Weald: What are you reading at the moment?
Daisy: John Craxton : A Life of Gifts by Ian Collins
Weald: Could you tell us a bit about the themes and subjects in your show?
The overarching theme of my show is female connection to literature; looking partly at formative experiences which have contributed to contemporary women’s love of words/writing/reading.
The experience of female writers and female literary characters is another theme in my show- I’ve tried to interpret and express my own understanding of a selection of writers and fictional characters through drawing portraits of them.
Weald: The portraits have a lot of life and presence, yet their looks are not at all domineering; instead putting the viewer at ease. How did you develop this portraiture style?
Daisy: I have always drawn people in a way that I feel must be something to do with liking the person/sitter a lot - if I didn’t really admire them in some way I don’t think I could create the portraits you see.
Anne Elliot by Daisy Harcourt
Weald: What lead you to using pencil and ink as a medium?
Daisy: Working with pencil is something I’ve always done since I was a child. Latterly I discovered different types of ink, these are interesting and less predictable to use, the fluidity of mark making and texture creating contrast to the drawn line.
Weald : A bit of a taboo question now - what is your favourite portrait from the series and why?
Daisy: From the series? I couldn’t possibly say!
From the show - ‘Mrs Dalloway’.
She is a favourite of mine for a number of reasons - the scale was new and challenging for me but I am happy with it; parts of the composition have different styles of working and ultimately I am pleased with the way they work together. Lastly I feel ‘Mrs Dalloway’ expresses a little of the character I imagine when I read Woolf’s novel.
Weald: What’s next on the horizon for you in terms of your practice?
Daisy: I am considering more portrait series and am keen to create larger scale works - I’m interested in creating portraits of underrepresented historical figures for public spaces.
Weald : Finally - what would be your 5 song studio soundtrack?
Daisy:
Moon in June - Soft Machine
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis - Vaughan Williams
Light Flight - Pentangle
The Zephyr Song - Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Pictures Of You - The Cure