Jess de Zilva

Jess de Zilva is a London based painter of psychological allegories.

She was born in London where she spent her early years with her Sri Lankan father, Liechtensteiner mother and her siblings. As the family divided, her life continued in Liechtenstein and in Switzerland where she completed her foundation art studies.

In 2001, Jess returned to London to study Fine Art at Camberwell College of Arts, then took break from the art world to re-evaluate where she was heading. She earned a living painting, decorating and studied specialist paint effects & faux painting, all the while learning a great deal about materials and processes. In 2015 she began focusing on classical painting methods and techniques, including portrait painting, while studying at the Sarum Studio, Atelier of Fine Art, in Salisbury under the tutelage of Nicholas Beer.

De Zilva describes her paintings as psychological realism: “I’m interested in what underpins our actions and thoughts, how context influence us. My paintings are psychological so they can be visually dreamlike, but the feelings they express are dead real. I paint in a realist manner to bring some reality and seriousness to a subject that cannot be seen nor touched and is difficult to describe.”

The painted figures are portraits of real people, yet the stories are not about specific people; the artist hopes that everyone recognises a piece of themself in the work.

Jess has evolved into a realist painter whose psychological allegories bring traditional portraiture into magical scenes.

https://www.instagram.com/jessdezilva/