Lesley recalls fond childhood memories of many hours spent drawing and painting in the ‘art room’ with her siblings, under the tutelage of her mother, a highly regarded artist and teacher. Whilst showing an early, natural ability to create imaginative artwork, Lesley veered her creativity instead to dramatic arts, developing a passion for musical theatre performance and direction and later, dance.
Many years later, realising that “something was missing” in her life, Lesley came across her son’s old school sketch book and started to draw again on the blank pages and the missing link was solved. Charcoal sketching quickly became “something I had to do every day” and from this, as Lesley’s imagination and confidence grew, she started to produce artwork in acrylics.
Now, when asked, Lesley humbly volunteers that she “paints a bit”. This is somewhat of an understatement; Lesley paints most days, finding inspiration and energy from ever changing skies and the beautiful countryside views surrounding her home in the Cotswolds and the atmospheric coastlines of her former home in the West Country, which she frequently returns to.
Lesley works quickly on canvases, applying layer upon layer of colour and enjoying the “freedom and flow” of her favoured medium, acrylics. Her original and striking, contemporary landscapes and seascapes are vivid in colour capturing the emotions and feelings the sky, sea and land impress on her.
Gower studied at Batley College of Art in the 1980’s where he specialised in fine art and sculpture. Over the years Gower has developed a unique style with his ‘Reflections’ series but throughout his career Gower has painted in a variety of styles, taking inspiration from Modern Masters such as Sickert, Monet, Picasso and Bacon. Over the past few years he has developed a recognisable painting technique finding great success with his ‘Reflections’ work.
Gower has enjoyed sell-out group and solo shows in Central London art galleries, with many of his works now in private collections across the UK, Europe and the US. He has also worked on a number of private commissions, including family portraits, a London cityscape for the Lord Mayor of Westminster, a bespoke commission for the Duchess of York and Purdey Guns to name but a few. Observation are key to Gower’s practice. Capturing moments in sport or day to day life.
In 2017 Richard Gower painted a portrait of HRH Prince Phillip’s last official engagement which is now held in The Royal Collection.
One of Europe’s leading garden photographers, Clive has photographed many of the world's best gardens, including His Majesty The King's own private garden in Scotland, Lord Rothschild's private garden in Corfu and Lord Heseltine's private garden in Oxfordshire.
His passion for the subject comes across in every image that he makes.
His work has appeared in hundreds of books as well as in countless magazines, calendars and brochures. Clive regularly gives master classes in flower and garden photography for The Royal Horticultural Society.
Clive regularly gives workshops on plant & garden photography across the UK.
Martyn Jones is a contemporary painter who works from his studio based in Cardiff, Wales, U.K. Jones graduated M.A. Fine Art, at Chelsea School of Art, London and was awarded Junior Fellowship at Bath Academy of Art. Among his tutors were the British artists Patrick Heron and Adrian Heath.
His works are abstract, but the inspiration and basis for them are found in reality and the world around me. His experiences of the world are the prime material for abstraction, employing his personal alphabet of shapes and colour. His responses are really a stream of consciousness that he hopes evokes the way in which he sees the world, always as a place of beauty. He celebrates vibrations or sound through the use of colour in painting. However, sometimes works in silence, listening to the noise of the natural world and this again informs the shapes and colours that used.
A further sense comes in the use of saturated colour that you can almost taste. Jones paints expanses of colour but within these are small jewel-like accents of bright glimmering ultramarine, umber, violet or viridian creating deep sumptuous chromatic blacks on the canvas. Turquoise is often used and is a tranquil colour, transcendent, quiet and deep. One key motif in his work is the apparent chalk line. He see these as precious and fragile, it is time-consuming to achieve. They seem to be simple, a gesture made by a child in chalk, and Jones feels that he captures the spontaneity of a child’s drawing with them, however, these lines cannot be created with a single or continuous brushstroke, they are painstakingly made with a tiny brush. The overall effect has a sense of immediacy, but the creative process is very different to this.
Ultimately, his is searching for something unobtainable, a calm tranquillity, an impossible form of transcendence, a perfect existence and that is what brings him back to the canvas.
I paint contemporary landscapes and seascapes, primarily in acrylic, from my home in the Cotswolds.
I have had a love and understanding of the sea and the natural world around me for as long as I can remember. I translate my feelings of the landscape through paint. I do not just copy the view, but also deconstruct the whole view, concentrate on details of cloud formations, grasses, lines and colours on pebbles, rocks, shells, seaweed, ancient dry-stone walls, drover’s routes etc and reconstruct them
“It is such a privilege to be able to be alone in the landscape, the remoteness, the feeling of space and solitude. To be able to connect with the landscape and fully immerse myself. This is where I draw my inspiration from, this is where I belong.”
“Whilst walking through the landscape, I am constantly absorbing thoughts images and moments in time using all my senses. All these elements will become layered and preserved in my paintings.”
The social history of a place is hugely important to me, who lived and worked on the land and sea.
Debbie Morris, born 1964, is a descendant of William Morris (1834-1896) Arts and Crafts textile designer, poet and novelist, and Jane Morris (1839-1914) Arts and Crafts embroiderer and artist’s mode
“I live and breathe art. If I am not painting, I am constantly thinking about it – It is in my blood”.
Laura Dunmow originally trained as a graphic designer and, for many years, ran a design consultancy. Twelve years ago, she took the leap of faith and returned to her childhood passion for drawing and painting.
Laura’s inspiration is immersed in the classical oil painting style that centres around the aesthetic values of colour and unity of space. Her distinctive painting style is influenced by Turner's use of light and interpreted brush strokes that convey the atmosphere, exploring expansive vistas that connect directly with her experiences.
Combining her love of travel with adventure, her paintings are composed of an extensive image library - a collection of cloud formations above land and sea, observing how the natural light interacts with the textural landscapes below. A fusion of various elements builds the paintings' composition, illuminating stories of nature's atmosphere and drama - journeys created to invite you in.
Oils are Laura's favourite medium, the creamy, luxurious texture and deep colour pigmentations are perfect for the various methods employed when applying to canvas. Layers of coloured glazes ensure that the final painting comes 'alive'. These final additions create intrigue and depth for each bespoke piece of art, enhanced for your home. oil painting art original art
Claire is an artist and designer from Durham in the North-East. As a child, Claire was immersed in arts and crafts and so began her creative journey. Her creativity led her to take a degree in fashion and she graduated in 2007 with 1st Class honours.
In the same year, she was short-listed for the SDC (Society of Dyers and Colourists) Textile & Colour Award at Graduate Fashion Week and her hand-painted silk scarves were short-listed for London Fashion Week.
Working with mixed mediums of water-colours, fabrics and machine embroidery, Claire’s designs have merged with the world of greetings cards, homeware and personal beauty care. And, with stockists such as John Lewis, Fenwick, Hoopers and large independent retailer’s such as Blackwells, Kew Gardens, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Chester Zoo, La Philharmonic Store, The Glasshouse International Centre For Music and JG Windows, Claire is quickly becoming popular in the industry. Claire was a Henries finalist in 2013 for Most Young Promising Designer and in 2022 for Best Art Range. Claire has also made the Brands Untapped 100 in the Brand Category for 2023. Claire is also working with some major online retailers such as Wayfair and Amazon, and supplies her work to a number of large Charities such as CLIC- Sargent, Daisychain & Weldmar Hospice. Claire has recently illustrated a cat design for PDSA to go on their wonderful new gift range and are sold across the UK in PDSA charity shops and online.
Claire is also fortunate to work with different creative industries. Her range of exclusive hairbrushes are sold in prestigious Ozzie Rizzo Salons in Mayfair and Richmond and her artworks are featured in TV shows and a blockbuster movie due for release in Autumn 2017.
Her work is available for licensing and is already seen on a range of ceramics, candles, apparel, tech, home-wares and gift-ware.
Her creative journey continues in her studio in Durham
Originally from Solihull near Birmingham, Tara Manners moved to Broadway in 2019. She is a self taught artist and from an early age followed YouTube tutorials to teach herself. She studied BTEC Art and Design at Solihull Sixth Form College where she achieved three Distinction stars.
Her initial interest in art came from her family, especially as both her Grandmothers were extremely artistic, whereby she always wanted to emulate their skill. Her aunt is also artistic with textiles after completing an Art Degree and now has a business making bespoke lampshades and occasionally she uses her Nieces art designs to experiment on the lampshades.
Tara’s passion has always been animals, especially dogs where she has done many pet portrait commissions over the years but now is becoming more focused on developing her own unique style. She still paints animals but with an abstract approach taking inspiration from Gustav Klimt and Van Gogh. She experiments with switching mediums between coloured pencils and acrylic paints but also incorporates gold into her work.
“Whatever I use, whether it be gold paint or gold leaf, I love the way it catches your attention” Tara Manners
Zoe's subject matter revolves around nature, whether it is a traditional landscape or a flower painting. She paints most days from her home in Bristol, being self-taught but attributing her love of painting to her grandfather. She recalls fond childhood memories of hours spent drawing and painting with him, as he would always visit with a sketchbook and paints. Throughout school, her passion for art never faded, nor did her fascination with the use of colour, its powerful symbolism, and its ability to communicate mood and emotion.
A project studying the Impressionists, particularly Claude Monet, captivated her, leading her to spend hours copying his work and applying it to local scenes, some of which still adorn the walls of her family home. Over the last twenty years, Zoe has experimented with various crafts, but during lockdown, while painting with her daughter, she rediscovered the joy of painting. This period reignited her passion for the artistic practice that continuously explores and pushes the creative process, sparking inspiration and hope.
Zoe's journey of personal rediscovery includes using art as a form of therapy after being diagnosed with MS. Facing physical challenges with her mobility and dexterity, she found an outlet in art, bringing the outside world in when getting out can be difficult. Creating beautiful objects that pay tribute to the natural world helps her reconnect with the colours around her. Zoe's creative journey is a constant evolution, marked by endless experimentation with various concepts, materials, and copious amounts of paint. Recently, the use of textures has taken centre stage in her creations. Through layering techniques and varied mediums, she crafts surfaces that invite touch and exploration, adding depth. She approaches the painting process as an experimental conversation rather than something planned. Each layer of paint reacts to the one before it, and while she often starts with an idea of the direction she wants the painting to take, it frequently evolves into something completely different, with many hidden layers underneath the finished piece.
Above all, Zoe seeks to invoke vitality and happiness in everything she creates.
CONTEMPORARY ART