Origionally from Sheffield, I moved down to the Midalnds 6 years ago and now live in Kenilworth, I gained a BA Hons degree at Sheffield University and I am also a qualified nurse.

I currently work with vulnerable children to help with their emotional health and wellbeing, part of this work has helped me to combine my nursing qualification with my love of art and am currently working towards specialising in art therapy.

I also teach art to clients with aquired brain injuries.

My work reflects my experiences which explores the power of nature and layers of inter-connectivity; anatomy and mortality; and the fragility of life. I love to create work that is decorative and surreal, feminine and sometimes sculptural, wordless narratives.

I am fascinated with the fine line between real and abstract and have a particular interest in layers and textures.

I am heavily inspired by the the flowing scroll paintings of China,Georgia O’Keafe, Lee Krasner and Jane Frank . Working, in a mixtures of acrylic paint, pastels, inks, paint textures, fabrics, beads, threads I make it my aim to produce work that struggles to break free from the confines of tradition and see the beauty amongst ‘normality’

 

 Nicky Moorhouse

My paintings articulate and investigate the myths surrounding mermaids. Many of which traditionally depicted sirens tempting men into watery graves thus implying that beauty, vanity and femininity is dangerous. They are a metaphor for evil and usually display provocative naked flesh surrounded by water.

My work focuses on how the female form is perceived. I always give my subjects movement, so they are not simply an object to be glanced upon. My women twist, stretch and swim within the canvas, they do not remain static before the viewer, they have a sense of purpose.

I investigate images of my own body in water to create the compositions. I choose images that are dynamic and communicate strength. Thus, striking poses and/or aesthetically beautiful patterns within the water become the subject of the work.

My work has grown over the years as I have become more familiar and at ease with my body and sense of self. I have a close affinity with water and I use it daily to keep myself strong in body and mind. In the future my work will continue to explore this relationship between body, water and representations of femininity; the subject is boundless.

Date of birth: 21.05.1974

Place of birth: Goce Delchev, Bulgaria

1992: Kiril and Metodii Fine Arts Collage, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria

2001: Kiril and Metodii Fine Arts University,Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

Collective exhibitions:

2000: Bulgaria,Sofia-National Gallery Shipka 6

2001: Bulgaria, Blagoevgrad - City Gallery

2001&2003: Bulgaria, V.Tarnovo - Fine Arts University

2002&2003: Turkey, Antalia - Private Gallery

2004: Germany, Frankfurt - Cultural Centre

2004: Switzerland, Bern Gallery

2005: Portugal, Centro de Congressos do Estoril

2006: Portugal, Lisboa - Convento do Beatoual

Individual exshibitions:

2002: Bulgaria, V.Tarnovo - Gallery of the Fine Arts University

2003: Bulgaria, Goce Delchev - Cultural Centre

2007: Portugal, Monte Estoril, Art Gallery D.S. Hotel Clube de Lago

2007: Portugal, Rua Andrade Corvo 6, Lisboa

University Degree:

Master of Arts

(Fine Arts University, Kiril and Metodii, Bulgaria)

George Taylor

George Taylor was born in Banbury in 1944; he studied painting full time from 1959 to 1963 but became disillusioned with the art school system as it appeared not to encourage individualism but rather to dictate that students adhered to the conventional, figurative approach to painting.

Unable to conform to what he felt was too rigid, dogmatic adherence to the descriptive, he set up a studio which he financed by taking temporary work in local government.

Art was the predominant interest in George’s life and in the early sixties he got to know the painter Terry Frost very well, often visiting his studio in Banbury and Vice Versa.

In 1966, on Terry’s recommendation, George was awarded a Margaret Gardiner prize for his work.

He Has a deep affinity with the Penwith area of Cornwall, which he ahs visited regularly since 1960 and a particular and long standing interest in the painters who worked or were associated with St Ives and Newlyn.

In time the temporary work became permanent and George was struggling to balance the demands of a management job with increasing responsibility with his ambition to achieve success as a painter.

The Attainment of a senior post in 1971 inevitably led to a significant reduction in the time available for painting and thus to his output.

For this reason and because political changes had eliminated the creative element from his job, George decided to cease the local authority work in 1990 to concentrate once again on his painting.

Within a year or so he had a large solo exhibition sponsored by Humberside County Council, inspired by the landscape around Flamborough Head, at around the same time he had a studio exhibition for Oxfordshire Artweeks and showed at Oxford Art Society.

In the nineties George gained considerable success in the Laing Art Competition having pictures selected for both the regional and national exhibitions in London over a number of years.

Exhibitions include:

The Royal West of England Academy

Royal Birmingham Society of Artists

Bond Gallery, Birmingham

Mall Galleries, London

The Theatre Gallery, Chipping Norton

The Little Gallery, Oxford

Oxford Artweeks

Where I fell In Love Gallery, Shipston on Stour

Oxfordshire County Museum, Woodstock

Born in Sweden 1961
Grown up in Stockholm, lives and works in the middle of Sweden, Norberg.

Art studies:
Nyckelviksskolan, school of art and craft, Stockholm
Gerlesborgsskolan, art and painting studies, Stockholm
Nordic Art School, painting, Finland.
Worked as an employed artist with an architect company during
1987-1994, did several small as big Murals and interior-paintings.

Ola Rosling shows the traditional art, oil painting, but with personnel image.
His work with the light is masterly.
He can get it to burst like a whirl cyclone on open sea or like stars from a dissolved galaxy.
But he can also let it be the only that happens in a picture, an enchanting activity embedded in deep mystery.
Against the enigmatic, more or less abstract he places the descriptive.
The man and the dog on the beach, or the white-dressed woman sensually hinted without disturbing details, are painted like pages from a diary, memories of the most lovely summer mornings.
Yes it´s definitely morning light in Roslings pictures and most of them seems to be painted near the sea if though you just hint the water, like an atmosphere more then substance.

Solo-exhibitions
Pharmacia Upjohn, Uppsala-96
Galleraget Alvikstorpet, Stockholm-98
Kammaren, Stockholm-99
Galleri Lorentzon, Stockholm-00
Galleri Lorentzon, Stockholm-02
Kammaren, Stockholm02
Galleri inre rummet, Skövde-02
Galleri engelsbergs bruksh, Ängelsberg-02
Konstfrämjandet, Västerås-03
Galleri Lorentzon, Stockholm-04
Galleri Abrahamsgården, Norberg-04
Hallstahammars konstförening, Hallstahammar nov.-05

Group-exhibitions
Galleri gagarin, Finland-85
Kulturhuset, Stockholm-86
Stockholm art fair, Stockholm-02
Virsbo Konsthall, Virsbo-02
Art Copenhagen, Köpenhamn-02
Art kunstmesse Herning, Herning-03
Stockholm art fair, Stockholm-03
Stockholm art fair, Stockholm-04
Art Copenhagen,Köpenhamn. sep-05
Florence biennale of contemporary art. dec-05

Denis Blondel has worked as a painter for 12 years. His semi-abstracted and figurative work has rich colours and textures gained from using a variety of media in the paintings, anything from sand and spices to inks, acrylics and pastels. Over the last 10 years he has been awarded many prizes for his work and shows all over France including Paris, Lyon and Aix en Provence.

Lynette Pierce

Born Sutton Coldfield and moved permanently to St Ives in 2002.

Lynette paints predominantly sea and landscapes, capturing the beauty of the colours in her surroundings using mostly watercolours. She enjoys mixing other media into her work to give it not only depth but also texture and her use of ‘splatter’ recreates the light reflecting off the sea or the many hues found on the Cornish moors.

Exhibitions include:

St Ives Society of Artists

Starfish Gallery, St Ives

Waterside Gallery, St Ives

Webbs Gallery, London

Colin Neville Fine Art, Hampshire

Where I Fell In Love Gallery, Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire

Also several earlier exhibitions in Sutton Coldfield before her move to the West Country. Here her first exhibition after moving, was a two woman show with Judy Symons in St Ives in May 2004 closely followed by one at the Mariners Open in September.

David Moore

Painting the human form involves infinite possibilities, especially with oil paint.  Oil paint is my chosen medium and I use it to build with colour a broad, often instinctive way.  The aim of my work is to describe something of the essence or spirit of the subject, in colour with the minimum of drawing.  Sometimes the accidental effects of moving paint around on the surface of the canvas can lead to a positive and potential direction.  Residual, overlapping brush work marks are very important in this context.  To this end, I tend to look at the  work of David Bomberg and Frank Auerbach.  Bomberg strove for the ‘sprit of the mass’.  I also admire the work of Degas, especially his economical approach to life studies. 

Life drawing was the most important disciplines of the 1950’s and 60’s when I was a Student (part-time) and even considered beneficial to the students studying ceramic design, like myself.   My Life drawing and painting continues with as much enthusiasm to this day.

1957 - 1962     Burslem College of Art                        

1962 - 1965     Royal College of Art                                        

1965 - 1967     Ceramic Designer                                            

1967                BPMF award for Design                                  

1967 - 1991     Teacher of Art and Design                   

Qualifications

RCA, BA Arts, NDD

Work shown in various exhibitions within Staffordshire

Joy Ashby  N.D.D.   A.T.D.   A.R.B.S.A.

Joy Ashby trained at Stourbridge School of Art and Birmingham College of Art and lives locally to Shipston-on-Stour.

Her early years were spent teaching in art education both at secondary and further education levels. This was followed by some successful years in painting, conservation and restoration.

Joy organised and tutored advanced painting courses in both Italy and France. (She stills tries to visit Italy annually.) After working for fifteen years for ‘The National Trust’, Joy has recently returned to full-time painting.

Her work is constantly from information collected via studies of plants and organic forms and exploration of light and atmosphere in landscape. Paintings in oil, acrylic and mixed media, range from detailed and sometimes complex representational studies to abstract interpretations.

Her work is widely exhibited in the Midlands and London. Exhibitions include:

R.B.S.A. Galleries

Botanical Gardens Gallery

Midlands Art Centre

Helios Pictures

The Birmingham Medical Arts Society

Burgh House Gallery, Hampstead, London

Where I Fell In Love Gallery, Shipston-on-Stour

Born in Nottingham in 1950 Peter studied art firstly at Nottingham College of Art and then at Leeds Polytechnic Faculty of Art and Design.

After leaving college Peter lived and worked on the Isle of Skye and later Edinburgh where he exhibited his work widely.

On moving back to Nottingham in 1980, Peter was employed by Nottinghamshire County Council helping to establish Rufford Craft Centre as a centre of excellence for the applied arts.

Over twenty years later Peter, now managing the arts provision at Rufford, has begun to put together a new body of work based on his interest in the landscape, especially that of the Hebrides and the Lake District.

The paintings, in oils, reflect the colour and tone that the weather brings to the landscape and the seasonal changes in mood and light. The landscape paintings comprise of various layers of acrylic and oil paint. The depth of tone and variation of texture is dependent upon the thickness of application of these various layers. Other materials are combined with the paint to create the textured surface that both contrasts and compliments the areas that are created using more traditional painting techniques. Peter undertakes commissions and would be only too pleased to talk to you further about his work.

Galleries showing Peter’s work include:

Booth House Gallery, Holmfirth., Yorkshire

Buckenham Gallery, Southwold, Suffolk

Bull Yard Gallery, Southwell, Nottinghamshire

Gallery 52, Ashbourne, Derbyshire

Heswall Village Gallery, the Wirral

Melbourne Contemporary Art Gallery, Derbyshire

Parkfields Gallery, Ross on Wye

Calver Mill Gallery, Derbyshire

Oriel y Bont Gallery, Aberystwyth

Percy House Gallery, Cockermouth

Kentmere Gallery, Ambleside

Where I Fell in Love Gallery, Shipston on Stour

Born 1961, Niall lives and works in Edinburgh. He studied at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art from 1982-1986, where he gained a B.A. Hons in Fine Art Drawing and Painting.

 

In July 1987 Niall started on 1 year Self Employment as an artist and in June 1988 he became part of a Government Sponsored Scheme: Creating    Art work  (Illustrations / Water Colours) Oils and Drawings to Commission which he completed in August.

In June/July of the same year he visited Canada to explore potential markets for art work, namely Illustration and Design (through recorded images Painting & Photography)

 

From March to September, 1989 he worked as a Graphic Design Assistant for the printing firm “Ferry Press” - preparing Camera Ready Designs, Designing Stationary Logos and preparing Art work illustrations and Design.

 

Following this Niall commenced employment at Edinburgh University Civil & Environmental Engineering Department employed as “Tracing Officer” Computer & Manual Draughting of Graphs and detailing 2D and 3D images. In April 2000 he accepted redundancy package from Edinburgh University.

                                  

 

 

Description of Artist Subject Matter and Influences

The North West coast of Scotland, particularly Ardnamurchan has been a constant focus of interest to me. The area is so changeable in its moods and its unlimited source of subject matter will always lure me to return.

Ardnamurchan, especially Ardtoe, is an area where I have returned to on many occasions. I have tried to reflect it’s remoteness but also the endearing quality of tranquillity. It is a special place not only for me but my family as well. It is my wish to have reflected that sense of affinity both within my earlier paintings and with my most recent work.

The significant artistic influences on my paintings are notably Scottish such as William MacTaggart, William Johnstone, Anne Redpath, William Gillies and the most strongest of them all which influenced my work is Joan Eardley.

Recently l have been focusing my attention towards the east coast of Scotland – namely North Berwick and the surrounding shores. I have also found inspiration from coastal sketches I created during a previous trip to Taiwan. I have found a more simplified approach to treating the subject matter looking at the broad areas of colour which represent the changing mood of the coastline. The introduction of materials also within my painting has given me a new vigour towards the work. I am beginning to focus on the relationship of how colour mood and movement all combine to encapsulate an atmospheric effect.

Rather than translating a view pictorially I am keen to represent the relationship between the land and the sea. I am looking more closely at the rhythms of the sea and its influences on the coast and shoreline. Smaller close up views can be rendered in a larger scale and I am fascinated by how nature can continually change and affect the landscape.

I have also moved over to using the palette knife and therefore use the brush less frequently. This allows more freedom to express the textures I see in the landscape while the brush still acts as a complimentary tool.

It is my hope that the spectator can experience the same moods and feelings that I endeavour to capture when I translate the subject matter I paint.

Niall McWilliam

Exhibitions include:

1983                Paisley Drawing Exhibition

1984                Aberdeen Art Exhibition

1985/86           R.S.A Student Art Exhibition

1986                One Man Exhibition “Torrance Gallery” Edinburgh

1987                Durie Gallery Leven

2000                Joint Exhibition at “Hook Line and Sinker”

                        (oils, acrylics and watercolours)

2000                Torrance Gallery, Christmas Exhibition

2000                Paper Gallery, Christmas and New Year

2000                Leith Gallery, Christmas Exhibition

2001                Shared Exhibition, The Torrance Gallery

2001                Art for Breast Cancer (Breast Cancer Foundation)

2001                Artistic License, London

2001                Torrance Gallery Christmas Exhibition (Oils)

2001                Peter Potter Gallery, Christmas Exhibition

2001                Leith Gallery, Christmas Exhibition

2002                Jango’s restaurant Edinburgh 

2002                Peter Potter Gallery Joint Exhibition (3 Contemporarary Scottish Artists)

2002                Howie’s Restaurant – Joint Exhibition

2002                The Torrance Christmas Exhibition

2003                Royal Bank of Scotland “Art in The Park” Holyrood Palace Joint Show

2003                Hilton Hotel Glasgow “Art for Charity” Exhibition

2003                Nick Nairn’s Restaurant Glasgow

2003                Hilton Hotel Dublin and Belfast “Art for Charity Exhibition”

2003                Austin Lafferty Gallery Glasgow (permanent works)

2003                Torrance Gallery (Christmas Exhibition)

2003                Peter Potter Gallery (Christmas Exhibition)

2004                The Torrance Spring Exhibition

2004                Macmillan Cancer Relief Edinburgh Art Show

2004                Torrance Gallery (Christmas Exhibition)

2004                Peter Potter Gallery (Christmas Exhibition)

2004                The Westgate Gallery – North Berwick

2005                The Leith Gallery – “Burn’s Exhibition”

2005                The Affordable Art Fair London (Leith Gallery)

2005                The Morningside Gallery

2005                Peter Potter Gallery

Awards include:

1986                John Kinross Fellowship (Italy 3 months)

1986/87           Elizabeth Greenshields Scholarship ($8000.00)

Sarah Mayne

My formal training was as a designer, specialising in Interior Design. This began in 1990 at Mid-Warwickshire College of Art and Design, continued at The Kent Institute of Art and Design, then the University of Teesside, taking 6 years in total.

My interest in painting started in childhood and continued through my studies and beyond. Growing up with a mum who is an art teacher helped enormously!

Whilst living in Leamington Spa, the subjects I chose to paint were mainly from holidays taken in Scotland and Wales. I was introduced to the joys of hill walking at a young age, and the beauty of these wild places affected me deeply, and continues to do so.

In 2001, my husband Simon and I moved to St Ives and I found a whole new source of inspiration. I joined a group of artists known as Taking Space from 2002-2003, participating in exhibitions around West Cornwall.

I have shown work in St Ives with Oakapple Art, took part in a charity art exhibition, and shown work in St Just.

I have also been undertaking commissions, and my work is held in collections around the country.

Exploring the wildest parts of Britain for the past 25 years has given me an understanding of the weather patterns, moods, colours and many other elements that make up a landscape.

The way this is expressed in my painting is constantly changing – a more emotional, intuitive approach often results in a more abstract work. It is not enough to simply make a realistic image that can be recognised as a particular place – it is more a journal than a snapshot that I wish to create.

I work in acrylics as they allow me to work in layers quickly, which is necessary for capturing the emotions and memories that surround the subject. Some paintings take shape quite quickly over a number of days, others have been known to take months, or even years!

Look closely, and you will see the layers, many of them, overlapping, intertwined. There are a lot of special memories in there!