Williams Gallery West Press Release

Phyllis McAdams was born and raised in Northamptonshire, England.  She moved to the United States in the 1980s, earned a degree in Fine Art, and spent sixteen years painting and exhibiting on the East Coast.  She moved to California in 2001, and now resides in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains.

The majority of her work involves a re-examination of the “still life”,  with the intention of giving ordinary objects a fresh and contemporary look.  She seeks to convey to the viewer that even the most mundane objects can inspire remarkable works of art.  McAdams paints using “trompe l’oeil” techniques, a French term meaning “to fool the eye”.  This technique did not begin as a conscious effort, but rather, it was a natural evolution that developed over many years of painting. 

Other aspects of her work include exploration of methods and materials, and experimentation with shaped canvases.  These explorations have resulted in a series of paintings with sculptural and relief elements, some with spiritual significance, and others being purely visual, often with a whimsical twist.

 Inspired by a long time love for fashion design, her work also includes a series of loose and expressive paintings depicting department store mannequins.  Each painting is accompanied by a papier-mâché sculpture representing a figure portrayed in the image.  The series is another example of McAdams’ desire to add dimension to her work.