The Metro, Art Review by Christopher Collett Harking back to the early 17th Century paintings of Caravaggio, Emma Tooth's Concilium Plebis (meaning 'a council of the ordinary people') comprises a series of portraits which present people who are often derided as 'chavs' and 'hoodies' in traditional religious poses.
A single mother and her child resemble the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus; a hooded youth looks up to the sky in saintly contemplation; and a bare-chested young man holds his arms outstretched as if nailed to the cross. Paying homage to Caravaggio's The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, meanwhile Tooth shows three youths staring at a tattoo on a young man's stomach, which proclaims: 'Before A Fall Comes Pride'.
In each of the gilded-framed portraits, Tooth masterfully mimics Caravaggio's trademark use of chiaroscuro (contrasting light and dark), giving her subjects a celestial glow that further adds to the aura of divinity.
Although it might initially appear as if Tooth is mocking her subjects, using members of the public as models for biblical scenes is exactly what Caravaggio did 400 years ago. By depicting a girl dressed in a hooded top with gold hooped earrings as the Virgin Mary, Tooth not only challenges negative connotations, but also suggests that anyone can be touched by the divine.

ArrestedMotion.com BOOM, we were hooked!

Derbyshire Magazine (Wendy Roberts)The powerful portraitist you can't ignore. The Derbyshire artist is as striking as she is talented, as unique and surprising as her formidably impressive art. Stunning makeup and clothes with an historical air show her... seemingly endless creativity. Emma has created something extraordinary and new... something stunningly atmospheric; a classical take on 21st century life. It's not just Emma's art that is entertaining and curious. She's a larger-than-life character.

Claire Hamilton, BBC Radio Merseyside Beautiful… Proper Painting

Liz McGrath, Artist Emma -Tooth's work is truly stunning; her rich dark color palette and eerie backgrounds lend themselves perfectly to the atmospheric portraitures which inherit her creative kingdom. There's no denying her artistry as each of her paintings leer, smile or cry for you in such a life like manner.

Liam Sharp, Artist and Publisher She has a natural visual talent, classical skill and killer technique, plus she's far too young to be this accomplished!

Dom Jinks, Arts Council England Emma has combined technical excellence with a subject that is contentious. Yet she brings sensitivity and compassion to images that are often considered socially troublesome and threatening. Her collection questions stereotypes and gives dignity to what is essentially working class Britain today.  She also opens up the world of fine art to a new audience making it accessible to a whole new section of society.

Al Davison, Author/Artist Emma Tooth is an amazing artist, not only does she produce finely detailed, beautifully crafted paintings, but Emma herself is a stunning, living work of art.

Sally Pepper, BBC Radio Derby You will be blown away... The technique behind it is quite incredible... Honestly, take it from me - phenomenal work.

Artinliverpool.com Emma Tooth creates fantastic, realistic, sometimes dark portraits... Her skill is awesome.

sffworld.com The artwork with A Trace of Fragile Bliss is perfect.

Chronicles Magazine Emma Tooth is the muse, model and artist of her hyperrealistic art in one. Some say she is too young to be as accomplished as she is. Then again, eternal youth has always been an essential part of darker art.

Artshole.co.uk Be it wincing beneath the tattooist's needle or floating Ophelia-esque whilst bedecked in corsets, jewellery and hooped panniers, Emma is often both subject and artist. Body decoration, portraiture and vanity are common themes that Emma explores... There is a tender sensitivity to Emma’s painted snapshots of real life, particularly when it’s her real life ... she is determined to scratch beneath the surface of experience.

Derby Evening Telegraph A force to be reckoned with

John Forkin in Business Matters Magazine Brash scale and confidence ... technically brilliant.

Artist Statement I consider myself a portraitist first and foremost. It is the creation of likeness which fascinates me; a glint of gold in the shadows, the flicker of an eyelid, the shimmering pulsation of nerves under skin. Likeness is always at the centre of my work; the almost mathematical relationships of feature to feature are just the beginning, but accuracy is essential.
Using the historically loaded medium of oil on canvas, but sometimes working on other surfaces such as sackcloth or decayed wood, I set out to create jewel-like treasures, like altar pieces or the small icons intended for personal devotion. Alongside my painting I also make the historically-influenced costumes which appear in some of my paintings. This is a response, I suppose, to my restless discomfort with a soulless, mundane 21st century devoid of decoration or beauty or the magical promises made by a century of fantastical predictions. I look back to the costume and manner of the 1880s, to Symbolist and Pre-Raphaelite art, to Art Nouveau and Japanese imagery. Costume, masquerade and artifice are essential elements of my work, continuing my long-time explorations of self-image and self-presentation. There is a sense of escapism; most of my paintings are of a single figure, of a solitary moment, withdrawn from the rest of the world.
My paintings begin life inside my head, I see them there first; all my preliminary sketches and developments happen there. Then I begin to stage photographs for reference, controlling lighting, costume and pose, bringing the images in my head into the real world. Photographs are essential to my practice, particularly for my self-portraits - working from a mirror would not provide me with the unmoving accuracy I require.
I relish the glowing transparency and texture of oil paint and more and more I seek to create, as well as the overall image, a kind of macro-feast of surface texture which can only really be appreciated close up.
Humans relate to images of of other humans, particularly faces, on a visceral, subconscious level; this is why portraiture is especially powerful and relevant. After layers of meaning and concept are stripped away, that relationship remains. My images can be very intimate and very personal, drawing on my own lived experiences of Love, sadness and joy.