About Me
I am a landscape artist, based in West Berkshire.
I take my inspiration mainly from rural and coastal landscapes, and the transformative effects that seasonal and meteorological change have on these. I have a particular fascination with human intervention on the landscape and the resulting tension between permanence and impermanence: ancient monuments and architectural ruins being a favourite theme. I am intrigued by the way these become absorbed into the surrounding environment over time, while maintaining some presence of their own. I try to reflect this in the scale of the landscapes I paint and through the relationship between land and sky, with a particular focus on cloud formations. I work in oils for their depth of colour and because I want my skies, in particular, to have quite a textural feel to them, whilst I use acrylics for more controlled work.
I works in oils and acrylics, both in my studio and en plein air. I studied for an undergraduate degree in English with Art at Chichester in the early 1990’s, focusing mainly on sculpture, and only recently returned to painting in 2020.
I am a member of the Reading Guild of Artists (RGA), the Henley Art and Crafts Guild and Open Studios West Berkshire and North Hampshire. I exhibit regularly with the RGA and have also had work accepted for exhibition at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Penzance, and ‘The Artist and Leisure Painter (TALP) Open’ at Patchings Art Centre, Nottingham. My painting ‘Wilder’s Folly after the Rain’ was shortlisted for the final round of judging for the 2022 Royal Academy of Arts’ Summer Exhibition and my painting of Castle Howard was awarded Artists & Illustrators magazine ‘Artwork of the Month’ in the February 2022 Editor’s Picks competition. In June 2022 I had a fun day out at Royal Ascot participating as a ‘Wild Card’ artist in Series 8 of Sky Arts ‘Landscape Artist of the Year’.
Exhibitions, Publications and Competitions
Exhibitions and Events
UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS & EVENTS
West Berkshire & North Hampshire Open Studios
Hilltop Studio, 15B Berkshire Drive, Tilehurst, Reading RG31 5JJ
4th – 26th May (every Saturday & Sunday in May, 11am-5pm)
‘Redefining Realities’ exhibition
Arlington Arts, Mary Hare School, Snelsmore Common, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 3BQ
1st May – 21st June (10am-4pm, FREE entry – booking required)
INSIGHT Open Studios Exhibition
The Base, Greenham Business Park, Communications Road, Thatcham, RG19 6HN
4th May – Monday 27th May (10am – 5pm, FREE entry – booking required)
Henley Arts & Crafts Guild Spring Exhibition
The Old Fire Station Gallery, 52 Market Place, Henley-on-Thames RG9 2AG
27th April – 7th May 2024 (10am – 4pm daily)
Swire Ridgeway Arts Prize Exhibition
Thomas Hughes Memorial Hall, Uffington, SN7 7RE
27th – 28th April (10am-5pm)
Rotary Club of Pangbourne Art Exhibition and Sale
Pangbourne Village Hall, 6 Station Rd, Pangbourne RG8 7AN
20th – 21st April (Saturday 10-5pm, Sunday 10- 4pm)
Preview evening: 19th April 6-9pm
PAST EXHIBITIONS & EVENTS
University of Reading Winter Festival : Festive Market
3Sixty, Reading Students’ Union building
Friday 1st December 2023, 5pm – 8pm
Henley Art & Crafts Guild
Autumn Exhibition
The Old Fire Station Gallery, Henley-on-Thames
6 – 10 October 2023
Small Works 2023
Reading Guild of Artists)
The Turbine House, Reading
22 September – 1 October 2023
The Reading Guild of Artists 92nd Annual Exhibition 2022 ‘Continuum’
The Old Fire Station Gallery, Henley-on-Thames
21 July – 1 August 2023
The Artist and Leisure Painter magazines’
TALP Open 2023
Patchings Art Centre, Nottingham
13 July – 13 August 2023
with associated online exhibition
Swire Ridgeway Arts Prize exhibition
Thomas Hughes Memorial Hall, Uffington, Oxfordshire
22-23 April 2023
with associated online exhibition
RGA Royal Berkshire Hospital Corridor Exhibition No.28
Reading
6 March – 29 April 2023
Penlee Inspired 2023
18 January – 22 April 2023
Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Penzance
RBSA Prize Exhibition 2022
RBSA (Royal Birmingham Society of Artists) Gallery, Birmingham
15 September – 15 October 2022
Small Works 22 (Reading Guild of Artists)
The Turbine House, Reading
23 September – 2 October 2022
RGA Royal Berkshire Hospital Corridor Exhibition No.27
Reading
4 July – 27 Aug 2022
The Reading Guild of Artists 91st Annual Exhibition 2022 ‘ART Works’
The Old Fire Station Gallery, Henley-on-Thames
21 July – 4 August 2022
The Artist and Leisure Painter magazines’
TALP Open 2022
Patchings Art Centre, Nottingham
14 July – 14 August 2022
with associated online exhibition
Reading Charity Art Fair
Leighton Park School, Reading
29 – 31 October 2021
RGA Royal Berkshire Hospital Corridor Exhibition No.26
Reading
5 July – 28 Aug 2021
The Reading Guild of Artists 90th Annual Exhibition 2021 ‘Reconnected’
The Old Fire Station Gallery, Henley-on-Thames
Fri 16th – Tue 27th July 2021
RGA Online Exhibition “Celebrating our Town – Discover Reading” Summer Supplement
June 2021
RGA Online Exhibition ‘while we wait‘
March 2021
Publications featuring my work
- ‘Painting the Captain Cook Statue at Whitby’, Cook’s Log, the journal of the Captain Cook Society (January 2024), Vol.47, no.1
- ‘Arts and crafts guild in the pink after 70 years’ – Natalie Aldred, Henley Standard, 29 September 2023
- Leisure Painter (August 2023), Vol.57, No.8. Issue 640, p.88 ‘Online gallery: Jane Stroud’s selection of works from the Painters Online gallery’ an article about my ‘Spencer’s Angel, Cookham‘ painting
- Reading Guild of Artists Annual Review 2022-23 , pp.10-11 ‘The Girl, the Horse, the Mouse(hole) and the Sea’ by Kerry Webb
- ‘Why the corridors of Reading’s RBH are a hotspot for art’ – Phil Creighton, Reading Today, 16 March 2023
Competitions
Wilder’s Folly, after the rain, Acrylic on canvas board (51cm x 41cm)
Shortlisted for the final round of judging
Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 2022
Sky Arts’ Landscape Artist of the Year, Series 8 (filmed June 2022, aired January 2023) Participated as a ‘Wildcard’ artist at the second Royal Ascot heat
Poenari Fortress, Oil on canvas board (35cm x 25cm)
Selected for exhibition in The Artist and Leisure Painter magazines’ TALP Open Competition 2023
St. Clement’s Isle, sunset (2022), Oil on canvas board, 20cm x 13cm (10″ x 5″) & Mousehole Harbour (2022), Oil on canvas board, 40cm x 30cm
Selected for Penlee Inspired 2023
Cookworthy Knapp (nearly there), Oil on canvas (40cm x 50cm)
Selected for the RBSA Prize Exhibition 2022
RBSA (Royal Birmingham Society of Artists) Gallery, Birmingham
15 September – 15 October 2022
Corfe Castle, Acrylic on canvas (50cm x 20cm)
Selected for exhibition in The Artist and Leisure Painter magazines’
TALP Open Competition 2022
Clouds over the Cobb, Oil on canvas (50 x 40cm)
Selected for the Artists & Illustrators magazine ‘Editor’s Pick Portfolio landscape gallery 2022′ : July 2022
Castle Howard, Acrylic on canvas board (60 x 30cm)
Awarded Artists & Illustrators magazine ‘Artwork of the Month’ Editor’s Picks ‘Reflections’ competition: February 2022