I just wanted to give some updates on some exciting opportunities and progress as we are already half way thought the year.

Time is just flying by so fast I feel I need to ground myself for a while, slow down and just breathe.

The year stated with an invitation to do a joint exhibition at the Ilminster Arts Center in March. This was a wonderful opportunity that turned out to be incredibly successful. The gallery space is generous in size, full of light and a great place to exhibit. I hopefully will be taking part in another exhibition next year.

Dorset Art Weeks 2024

Following on into May I took part in Dorset Art Weeks. This was my 6th Open Studios spanning three counties. This one was by far the best. It is so lovely to see so many returning customers and meet so many new faces. Being able to talk to people about my work and hear their response to my new work is so inspiring and gives me the encouragement to keep going. I always find it slightly scary putting my new work out into the public for the first time. Over the last few years my work has changed and developed so much, there is a constant desire to keep moving forward, learning new techniques and coming up with new ideas. Standing still is not in my nature.

During open studios I entered the Ilminster Open Competition and was thrilled to be selected for the exhibition. The standard of work is incredibly high with such a variety of talent. This exhibition runs until 19th July and is definitely worth a visit.

Into the Blue Part of the Nature’s Paintbrush project.

Gallery News

After fulfilling many orders from open studios I have been able to turn my attention back to finding gallery representation and space to show my work. I was recommended to approach the A2 Gallery in Wells. I made a visit to the gallery to meet Simon and have a look around. The galley is perfect with a huge variety of different styles of art on offer. The last few weeks have been very busy getting everything ready to set up in the gallery.

I am very excited to be exhibiting at the A2 Gallery and hope to be staying with them for while. You can find my work upstairs in the Square One gallery.

I am also in discussion with a lovely small gallery in Beaminster called Art and Beyond. Isabell and Danielle have huge and exciting plans for their framing business and gallery. I shall put out future updates regarding progress.

My on-line shop is now up to date with all my new work to view and purchase.

For now I am hoping to have a few weeks off to catch up on all the business side of things and spend a bit more time with my two gorgeous dachshunds. Then hopefully a new project will start to emerge.

For half way through the year I think that’s a good start.

Enjoy the summer although it feels like Autumn already.

I am back….. Finally!

Having moved to Dorset at the end of April it has taken some time to sort out the new house.

I now have a lovely office/photography studio and a separate messy studio, a new beginning in The Art Wing.

It is very exciting to be finally back at work and will hopefully have something new to show soon.

I am hoping to get involved with the great artistic opportunities that Dorset has to offer including the Dorset Arts Weeks that run in May, and explore the amazing countryside right on my doorstep.

Very exciting to also announce that the London Invitational Art Contest exhibition that was postponed due to Covid is the be held in Mayfair London in January. I will put the dates up once it is all confirmed.

Stay safe, it’s still a mad world out there.

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Sadly for many the start of this year is not quite what was wanted or needed. The road ahead looks bumpy and riddled with pot holes.

If you have been thinking about getting one of my prints for a while, now is your chance to win one.

All you have to do is sign up for my Newsletter. You will then be entered into a draw and you could win a signed, limited edition print, of your choice worth up-to £95.

My first newsletter will go out later this year and will be quarterly ( unless there is something terribly exciting that just cannot wait) so I won’t spam you with constant arty waffle.

This is the best way to keep up to date with exhibitions, shows , new work and any promotions that I will be running.

The draw will close on Friday 22nd January.

Good luck and thank you so much for signing up.

Happy New Year

Well this year hasn’t gone to plan at all…… it really has been a strange time to live through.

Surrey Artists’ Open Studios is normally held in June but as with most things this year it was cancelled due to Covid 19.

I am very excited to announce that it will be going ahead in September. Opening on 19th running through to the 4th October.

I am really looking forward to welcoming people back to my studio over the two weeks and hope to see many of my regular customers returning along with some new faces.

During lockdown I spent most of my time creating a new project in response to the Covid 19 pandemic. I will be exhibiting this work for the first time in my studio.

I hope you will be able to join me, my opening times are:

Saturday 19th, Sunday 20th September

Thursday 24th, Friday 25th September

Saturday 26th, Sunday 27th September

Thursday 1st, Friday 2nd October

Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th October

11am to 5pm.

The countdown has begun, just 3 weeks until Surrey Artists open studios launch weekend. There are about 300 artists across Surrey taking part with such a huge variety of artistic talent for you to enjoy.

I have been very busy creating new work over the last month. I am really excited to share it with you and will post it all up soon.

My studio will be open on the following dates
Sat 1st June 11am to 5pm
Pimms, tea and cake.

I am then open 11am till 5pm on
6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th June

I look forward to welcoming you into my studio.

 

The Surrey Artist of the Year exhibition at the New Ashgate Gallery in Farnham is now open.

I was absolutely delighted to find out I was one of the finalists and invited to take part in the show. The private view was held on Friday night and was a wonderful evening. The atmosphere was amazing with such a great turn out and a huge variety of art work on display.

During the evening I was truly honoured to find out my work was on the cover for the exhibition brochure. It was a wonderful surprise and really interesting to see how well the images work in a book format.

During the exhibition, members of the public are encouraged to vote for an artist; the artist with the most votes from public and judging panel is named Surrey Artist of the Year 2018. The gallery is open Tuesday – Saturday 10am to 5pm. Voting is done in person at the gallery. Please do go along, It is an excellent exhibition and a great way to show support for local and independent artists.

You can view all the finalists art work in the exhibition here.

It is a beautiful gallery and well worth a visit. Voting continues for the next few weeks, the SAOY is announced on the 12th October and the exhibition runs until the 3rd November.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I get asked a lot what I do and how I create my work. Trying to explain to people often leaves them  confused and baffled  so I will try and explain a little about how I created my work and some of my processes.

My main project Passage was started during my MA studies. All the original images were made up of layers of paper, photographed from pages in a collection of old books and rusty metal. Photographing everything individually, against a white background so I can isolate it, remove the background and blend it into the image.

Bringing all of the images into photoshop and working in layers, changing the opacity to blend layers together, pushing somethings back so they are hardly visible. I particularly do this with text to distort the translation, I sometimes leave one or two words legible and remove or fade the rest away. This is how I build up the image, layer by layer to create the illusion of a landscape.

I also create my own textures using rust, tea, salt and paint. I photograph or scan them into my computer. This adds depth, dimension and interesting textures to my work.

The open landscape, devoid of physical beings but with the traces of their existence etched upon the surface is what fascinates me. It is with this in mind that directs my work. Creating a world that is made up of physical objects that have travelled through time, had a use, purpose or personal value to someone at some point.

For example, the wheel. It came from a wheelbarrow and I found it in a scrap yard. Who owned it? What was it used for? Where was it used? How many people owned it? So many questions from one object.

The books have there own story as within them are inscription, letters, photographs, scraps of paper and stains. All these things trace back to a life once lived. I photograph everything. It is like collecting forensic evidence of the past then using it to create an new picture.

Art is a continuous journey of discovery for both artist and observer. Opening your eyes and mind, you may find that what you were looking at is not the same as what you were seeing.

I love this quote by Marcel Proust: 

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new sights, but in looking with new eyes”

 

Wow what an amazing few weeks the Surrey Artists Open Studios was.

I am sorry it has taken so long to say a huge thank you to all that visited me and all the wonderful support for me and my work. Thank you so very much.

Taking part was an amazing experience and really got me focused on my art work. I met some wonderful people many whom had traveled some distance to see me, even from Australia. The local artists that I met and formed a trail with were such an inspiration and so helpful to me. It was my first year taking part so many thanks to them, Maria, Martin, Juliette, Claire and Suzanne.

I am so looking forward to doing it all again next year.

The Guildford Fringe Exhibition is currently on in the White Lion Walk in Guildford. Open daily until 29th July.

The last couple of week have been crazy!!!!

Printing, signing, mounting, framing, sorting and cleaning out my studio. I feel like I am back at Uni with a huge project to hand in….. 4 weeks to go till launch date…. Really trying not to stress out too much but it does get overwhelming at times……Time to take the dogs out for a walk…….. and just remember to breathe……..

So now for the promotion and publicity.