It’s always such a pleasure to meet an artist for the first time and have that instant connection; Ed Schembri is a lively character who is both interesting and passionate about his work; he has been painting for most of his life having studied in his earlier years at the Malta School of Art and Design. His formal training gave him experience with different mediums which were all part of the journey of developing his own style of which Ed found Expressionism to be what enticed and inspired him the most alongside Portraiture.
Ed predominantly uses oil pastels and oil bars as his medium; they are both a painting and drawing medium with characteristics similar to pastels, oils and wax crayons which produce a soft creamy effect. Ed is unique in how he applies them to the canvas, it is his hands that are his most prized tools. The advantage of using such a raw tool is the proximity he can get to the painting, its a personal affair between artist and canvas, an everlasting connection. Painting with his hands gives him the freedom to adjust the blends of colour to highlight the right angles and to ensure that the painting captures the true essence of the person he is painting. The strokes and swirls of his colours articulate the shapes that produce these wonderful pieces, each layer produces a different intensity that brings together the human form resulting in an aesthetically and emotionally pleasing image of value.
His paintings always touch on the personal, it is plain to see the connection Ed has with his subjects, they are raw, honest, intimate and at times nostalgic. He explores the complexity of the human figure with great ease and there is an underlying sensibility in his work that provides them with light and life from within. He executes a narrative through his paintings and the incredible luminosity of his colours truly express his colourful happy character through his work.
Ed also forms part of Magical Creative Rituals, a concept brought together to invite artists of varied styles and talents to collaborate on canvas. The aim is to set in motion a creative flow where the artists can freely paint and be as expressive as their creative talents will allow. You can find them on facebook.
Ed is currently working on a project that marries his two favourite styles of art, portraiture with abstract expressionism, the boundaries between the two disciplines will be overlapped together creating a new territory, so look out for his upcoming work. To get in contact with Ed you can email him on edwardjschembri@gmail.com.
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