Imelda’s Fine Art studies were combined with the bringing up of two young children. Even so, she successfully sold out her Final Degree Show at Chelsea Art College.

Faced with demand for her work continuing into the following year she made a decision to use the proceeds to finance a studio and defer from marketing or selling her work for a couple of years.

She badly wanted the time to work uninterrupted on a body of new ideas.

“I wanted to stop the lurking influence of what sold the last painting effecting progress and fresh ideas in my work.”
“My work aims to capture the secretive world and remoteness in the lives of adolescents and children. When I returned to painting in the mid 80s it was with the human form as my interest- not children and certainly not cats. But, as my children grew towards adolescence the tensions in the house also grew along with the power struggles, secrets and distancing.”

“Even when the house was empty tension continued to reverberate in the silence.”

Imelda tries to capture stillness and silence as if the subject has been frozen – the figures are remote and inward looking but when interrupted stare out at the viewer in confrontation.

“I continue to be influenced by Piero della Francesca and constantly return to his work for his simplicity, balance and regularity. His sometimes tiny images appear monumental but most of all he imparts an alertness to the distance between viewer and subject. We are drawn feeling welcomed into the picture, but there the command is clear – retreat – contact is not allowed.”

Curator of the MJDR Art Collection. Slaughter & May 1999.

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