Vanessa Art

PROFILE

Vanessa moved to Dorset two years ago from Hertfordshire where she exhibited for fifteen years including two solo exhibitions in London. Her first show in the South West was in 2014 at Pythouse Walled Garden Cafe, with an exhibition of intimate still lifes of flowers and textiles.

Selected pieces are exhibited at the Russell Gallery Mixed Summer and Christmas Exhibitions in London each year; her sixth year with the Russell including a one woman show in 2012.

Vanessa’s formal training came from the Heatherely School of Fine Art during the 1970s. Her passion for painting continued whilst raising a family, but her training was formalised at BCUC Hertfordshire with a B.A.(Hons.) Fine Art Degree as a mature student in 2005.

Painting familiar objects in their environment is the theme of her paintings. Living in Dorset with more light has changed her palette and thoughts on colour. St Ives is a new discovery and the presence of the sea and white light has brought new and exciting influences to recent work.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

“A sense of place, interiors, everyday objects and a language of things are my inspirations for painting. The shape of a jug or the colour of piece of material is usually a prompt to start painting.

I view still life as active not static but similar to a snapshot of life captured in time. The objects are not placed in position for eternity but appear to be in continual use. In the process of painting, the objects become less important as the love of colour and brush marks take over; they drift in and out of focus as the painting evolves before they eventually settle into place. Loose brush marks encourage the shapes to vibrate in the stillness.

Anne Redpath, Matthew Smith, William Nicholson, Winifred Nicholson and Bonnard are artists that continue to inspire and bring inspiration.”