Holding On
‘Into my Arms’ muses on the healing power of nature in uncertain times. The young woman embraces an aged tree, on which is perched a Turtle Dove itself a vulnerable species, also seen to symbolise the security of innocence, purity and enduring love, whilst the two birds in the foreground are Woodcocks; a bird which has been said to represent uncertainty or many questions that require answers.
The making of Harwood’s paintings begin with a preparatory collage, where multiple found images are combined from sources as varied as contemporary fashion magazines, ornithological books, classical sculpture and renaissance painting. This process creates anomalies in scale, such as the woman’s ability to embrace a tree, as well as the subtle inconsistencies of the individual parts within the flow of time, such as the fresh contemporary face of the woman in a classical pose against a renaissance inspired backdrop. On completion of the collage Harwood transfers these elements to oil paint, creating a seamless and timeless fiction.