In exploring film sequences as source material I have found that film and realist painting are closer than first meets the eye. Like traditional realist painting, cinema offers narrative, considers composition, evokes emotion and sustains our attention. While images are presently abundant, they are largely rendered through digital and smartphone technology. This results in many of the images we consume daily to be flat, high key and casual.

Filmmakers work hard to disrupt this lacklustre. Through strategic lighting, costume, set design and actors the scenes depicted are, in my opinion, the closest thing to the reverential atmosphere of 18th, 19th and 20th century portrait painting. Painting from film allows me to create a fictional, romantic space that is both intimate and distant. The theatrical qualities of film translate into gripping, emotional paintings one step removed from daily life. When an image is painted, the viewer is encouraged to pay closer attention to the moment and detail than they would if it were a moving image – and thus painted film stills open up an entirely different space to film. Much like painters from centuries past, I understand painting as a skill-based craft to be honed over a life time. We need this kind of slowness and dedication, now more than ever.

Bar Scene, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
600mm x 750mm x 15mm

Gatsby, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
150mm x 200mm x 15mm

Portrait of Jennifer, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
400mm x 300mm x 15mm

Portrait of Elijah, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
200mm x 200mm x 15mm

Mulholland Drive, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
230mm x 310mm x 15mm

Modern Angel, 2019
Oil on canvas
200mm x 200mm x 15mm

The One, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
250mm x 300mm x 15mm

Kiss Scene, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
200mm x 250mm x 15mm

Alice Lamont’s instagram