I have been exploring the possibility that non-representational painting can express profound emotion. By developing a visual language of painterly motifs, squares, circles, and lines, my colour saturated canvases have intense colour bursts that evoke dramatic landscapes but remain resolutely abstract. They distil the colour, light and forms of nature into visions derived from the experience of movement and time, rather than abstracted representations of specific events or places.

In painting the natural landscape I find endless inspiration and a desire to capture the very essence of the place, the colours and shadows the seasons create, a moment in time caught forever. I am drawn to beautiful, evocative and timeless scenes. I aim to capture the mystery in reality.

With some scenes I have taken away the buildings and have tried to recreate what could have been there before the town expanded.

I find myself seeing further and deeper into the landscape when I paint, I start to see aspects of the scene which were at first just part of a whole come sharply into focus in their own right and makes me appreciate every blade of grass, every tree becomes more relevant, this is a rewarding part of my work.

I also paint ancient interesting houses and their land, where time seems to have stood still for hundreds of years, I also find this rewarding and insightful.

My body of work also includes portraits and floral studies, many of which have been commissioned. I work in Acrylic and pastel, small to large scale and have my work in both public and private collections. My paintings were also used on set by 20th Century Fox in 2010.

I am influenced by a broad range of artists including the Brotherhood of Ruralists, Romantics, Symbolists & Impressionists. These paintings feature scenes from Canada and Britain. My work strives to be a record of what we have and a comment on what we are already losing or have lost.

Claudia is an ‘Active Member’ of ‘The Federation of Canadian Artists’ http://www.artists.ca/ and a former member of the North Vancouver Community Arts Council.’

I enjoy portraying my Caribbean and English backgrounds and find inspiration from the countryside, seascape, flora and everyday activities. I find the challenge of working on and interpreting different subjects, through a twist of abstraction and realism, satisfying.

I spent my childhood immersed in Jamaica’s uniquely sensual blend of sights and sounds. That tropical vibrancy, as expressed through art, song and dance, not to mention the lush natural environment of Jamaica, has stayed with me since those early years, and is readily seen in the bright colours, sense of movement and swirling figures which characterise my work.

The creative process is a highly intimate and personal experience. My work is perhaps best seen as a dialogue between my own experiences and memories, and objective reality. Dramatic and daring, it is poised between abstraction and a more orthodox sense of representation.

A key part of that process is exaggeration. My art is based on a heightened reality, which invites the viewer to engage in a process of interpretation and active participation in creating meaning. I also want the viewer to visualise the physical process and the medium involved, to see close-up the end of that brushstroke and the movement of the palette knife that lend my work its own spontaneity.

I work primarily in oil and acrylic, and also in watercolour, ink and bleach. I particularly love the texture, feel and character of oil and acrylic on canvas, which help to keep the work loosely painted. As such, the end result may be far removed from what I envisaged at the start of the process, adding to the joie de vivre that is present in all of my work.

My Caribbean upbringing is perhaps best seen in my tropical floral paintings. Anthuriums and bird of paradise were abundant in the garden of my family home in Jamaica and I use the flora of the island as a source of inspiration; flowers, in particular, bring us back to nature, give us a comforting sense of place and time, and can help to establish an idea of certainty and equilibrium. For similar reasons, I enjoy depicting the English countryside, and my work investigates the diversity of these two, very different, settings.
My work is, in many ways, autobiographical, and one of my intentions is to convey powerful and fresh emotions from my subject matter to the viewer. By working on several canvasses at once, I am able to achieve my aim, as all of my works are in a constant state of development.

My work is often the result of a process of experimentation and exploration. Often I will respond to the painting as much as the work itself responds to me; I enjoy the challenge of answering the needs of the work and forming solutions to the technical and interpretative issues that it raises. I work with layers of colour, washed or scumbled over a textured surface. Lines are straight, curved or gestural; surfaces are wiped, dripped and spattered. And so the work becomes an accumulation of techniques with a contemporary feel, something with gives me huge satisfaction.
My art is self-consciously flamboyant, since I see art in my daily surroundings; in particular, colour is something that speaks to me, and my work is therefore a satisfying vehicle for communication and self-expression.

I started painting in 2003, and I have displayed my work in group exhibitions at the Mick Jagger Centre and St Julian’s Club. I have also shown my work in solo exhibitions at The Ripley Art Centre in Bromley, The Tabernacle Art Gallery in Notting Hill and on a regular basis in Farnborough, Kent. My paintings and articles appear regularly in local magazines, and my work has been bought by collectors around the world.

As well as spending pleasurable hours painting in my garden studio, I was a trained nurse and lectured in anatomy and physiology. I previously ran my own beauty and holistic therapy business. I have worked in the fashion industry and have designed and made evening dresses as well as being involved in interior design. I am an active member of my church, where I host events for other parishioners and I have been chair of the social committee. Family and friends are very important to me; I help to run the family financial planning business and, most of all, I adore spending quality time with my husband and children.

“I will be exhibiting my linocuts, etchings and watercolours. These are made entirely by hand and I very much enjoy the process of hand printing.” www.jasonclarke.darkalchemy.co.uk - Jason Clarke

“I will be exhibiting works in the medium for which I am best known, hand coloured etchings. They are produced entirely by hand using techniques several hundred years out of date. In all works there is an element of humour, they are made with love and are for all ages.” www.grahamclarke.co.uk – Graham Clarke

Now in my 50’s, a long term resident in Bromley, one time world traveller, I like to paint from memory of places visited and those wild and quiet places of the world that still exist , that I have yet to see.

Wide open blue skies and wild empty places have always been a lure to artist – including myself. Winter , Summer, Autumn and Spring nature is beautiful at any time. These unspoilt vistas, often without human intervention, contrast starkly with landscapes primarily created by man.

This two-man exhibition by Colin Fifield and Ray Marshall has a “watery” theme which depicts varied aspects of rivers and canals, sea and coasts of England and abroad. Both artists are local but have travelled extensively in England and abroad.

Colin Fifield – profile
Colin lives on Shooters Hill, South East London. He first studied art and design at Camberwell School of Art from 1958 to 1962 specialising in Painting, Lithography and Illustration. He was awarded the National Diploma in Design (NDD) in 1962. From 1962 to 1964 he completed a two year post graduate course in Painting and Engraving at the Slade School of Fine Art, University of London where was awarded the Slade Diploma in 1964. His art has always been very eclectic. His interests range from landscape paintings in oils, watercolours and acrylics. His main inspiration comes from the landscapes of the South East Coast especially the areas of Dungeness, Deal and Hastings.

Ray Marshall – profile
Ray Marshall was born in Lambeth and moved to Plumstead, South East London, in 1975, where he has remained a local resident since. Having undertaken some formal study at Morley College, tutored by Lawrence Toynbee among others, Ray is mostly self-taught. His work covers an eclectic mix of subjects, taking inspiration from nature, architecture, historical references, dance and music and the general observation of the world around us.

Ray’s interests provide a wealth of stimulation as he enjoys walking in the countryside and urban settings, cross country running, motorcycling and bird watching, as a member of the RSPB. These activities afford the opportunity for collecting photos, sketches and notes which provide reference material for his work in watercolour, oils, pen and ink and pencil drawings.

This wide ranging body of work has been exhibited in a number of local shows and produced commissioned works for patrons both locally as well as in America, Canada and Australia.

A collection of paintings which are a testament to the Artist’s love of design and its application in a diversity of mediums oil, acrylic and collage, sometimes symbolic of a place or event witnessed, felt or experienced, a moment in time.

Theo Mendez studied textiles and painting at Camberwell College of Art . Later he became Head of the Textile Design Department where he was able to encourage and inspire students to follow their careers.

There are examples of his paintings and designs in the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Museum of London,
King’s College Hospital, The Whittington and Crawley Hospitals.

The Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. Whitfield Fine Art. London W1. Highgate Contemporary Art London N6.

Also in corporate and private collections in England, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, France and Italy.
see www.theomendez

Hayes School are proud to present an exciting body of Fine ART, Textiles and Photography work by both GCSE and ‘A ‘Level students. The work includes current course work and exam work from last year – all a culmination of the talents and commitment by both art staff and students alike. Head of Art Ms Catherine McKenna

This exhibition features a wide range of students’ skills and talents.

From Photographs to Fine Art textile hangings to paintings, our students have responded innovatively and uniquely to the complex world around them. Hayes students have captured with honesty and poignancy their fragile existence within the 21st Century.

This exhibition showcases the creative talents of the young artists, designers and photographers at Charles Darwin School.

Here at Charles Darwin we take pride in showcasing the creative talents of our students. Through the “Creative Explosion” exhibition, we aim to show off a variety of visual delights, looking across a range of ages, creative styles and themes. Some of the themes that will be shown through the art work include Identity, Journeys and Typography, influenced by such artists as Julian Opie, Javier Mariscal and Jamie Reid.

The work on display will come from Key stage 3, GCSE and A-Level students studying Art, Graphic Design and Photography.