About the Artist
Morgana Weeks currently resides in South West Devon, in the green and beautiful country town of Ivybridge, where she spent most of her childhood. She travelled to Aberystwyth University to become a student of Fine Art, completing with a BA Hons specialising in illustration. Morgana's preferred studies contain the flora and fauna of the natural world, a fascination going back to her very earliest of days. As well as being an artist , Morgana also studies Zoology as a means to better understand her subject matter. Morgana prefers to work with a mixture of inks, watercolours and pencil, drawing inspiration from the traditional illustration processes of the early zoological illustrations and studies. "Ever since she could hold a crayon she would be drawing animals and talking about them"Shirley Weeks- Mother. After graduating Morgana continued to work on her artwork and continued to learn about the world around her. This included going back to study Animal Psychology and Care. She later volunteered and soon came to work at an Aquarium as a host, where she could share her knowledge and help contribute to Marine Conservation. She enjoys spending time in places of natural beauty including woodlands and moorlands, which serve as inspiration for her work . |
Key Influences
"Nature has always been my main influence. I was brought up to respect and love nature and every aspect of it , growing up with family pagan values taught me many things, from making the most of what you find in nature to understanding its delicate balance. " Beatrix Potter: I've always seen animals to be intensely emotionally aware beings. They all have their characters which they openly reflect in their everyday life. Beatrix Potter is an endless inspiration and she really speaks to my heart in her artwork ,I truly felt this even as a child reading her vast collection of books. I feel that if she were around today, we'd get along very well! Despite their very different subject matter, I also very much enjoy the works of the Pre- Raphaelites, their attention to detail, texture, light and mood, all things key to my developing artwork. "Other Influences : John Singer Sargent : The magic of light and storytelling that draws me in everytime with this artist. His paintings are like immortalising snapshots into a magical world. It is this capturing of something truly special which I find is the key influence from Sargent. Edward Burne-Jones: What stunning artwork, Burne-Jones had a true mastery of capturing the movement and spirit of a person, creature, even the mood of the wind sweeping through a tree or through a tangle of hair. The stories are clear and intense, you feel excited just looking at his work. I love it all. John William Waterhouse: What more can be said about Waterhouse other than just escapism . When you gaze at one of Waterhouse's paintings you are lost in the story, the moment. They pull you in whether you like it or not, you feel pity for The Lady of Shalott, you are mused by the mermaids and nymphs hidden in the stories. Utter beauty and amazing storytelling. Albrecht Durer: I have very mixed feelings about this artist. When I first saw his artwork I adored the technical ability, the observation . I decided to do my Thesis on his career, which lead me to a rather uneventful and laborious essay, but I confess he isn't to blame for that. Although his drawings portrayed the animals accurately, they were in my opinion still the drawings of a printer, static and not alive. Despite this,Durer has been a key influence for technical ability . |