Professional Judges Panel for Fresh 2

The professional judges were all very impressed with the quality of the work in Fresh 2, they each expressed their difficulty in choosing just 6 for the exhibition competition & spend a good deal of time deciding!

From City Arts, Madeline Holmes(Chief Executive) & Kate Duncan(Programmer) shortlisted their 6 winners together. Their top 6 were - 1st Steven Ingman (for his use of texture & colours)
2nd - Gillian Choo,
3rd - Lora Redman,
4th - Davide Taristano,
5th - Eireann Lorsung &
6th - Gabriela Rogula.



Also judging on the professional panel & finding time out of his very hectic schedule was Jim Robertson - the Director of the New Art Exchange.

His top 6 were -
1st place - Chris Abbott - He particularly liked the red entry with the representation of rain.
2nd place he chose Lorna Hooper - for the character in her paintings.
3rd - Clinton Croson - for the use of colour and reminder of holidays.
4th place - Joan Beal - for the simple depiction aiding memories.
5th place - Kate Clark - he chose her piece for its difference in the exhibition & liked the gap created by the lines.
6th place - Nik Ellis - He commented that they were very atmospheric and created a feeling of despair.

Chris Abbott

I was a late starter at most things. I got a BA(Hons) degree and a social work qualification at the age of 53 and did not start painting until I was aged 60. The last 3 years I have had some excellent tuition from a number of local artists, notably Rosemary Wels, Matthew Swain and Linda Baistow through the “Workers Educational Association”.

The paintings in this exhibition reflect a range of ideas I have wandered through in this journey, including childhood memories in an attempt to recapture the simplicity of that time and to break through the constraints that time binds your memory to. Another idea is death and all the emotions that are not spoken about, especially if you are a man, as it grows ever closer in my life.

Colour, Line and form and how this has an enormous impact upon my mood, what is reality and why memory is sometimes completely different and how I can express this difference.

Art has given me a fantastic lease of life and a new way of expressing thoughts, feeling, emotion and ideas that are both challenging and important to me, perhaps my way of seeing things is not so strange after all.

In the last 12 months I have had work accepted at a number of exhibitions including:
Leicester Open Art Exhibition
Chelsea Open Art Exhibition
‘Patchings farm’ Summer Exhibition
E.A.C Art Awards, The Mall Gallery, London
View from the Top Gallery

I have also sold a number of paintings, much to my surprise. I work in watercolours, acrylic, pencil, pastels and mixed media.

Artists that have influenced my development are Kurt Jackson, William Selby and Patrick Caulfield, but everyday I discover new artists and new styles that really inspire me to view things in a different light. It is this continuing discovery that makes painting, art and my life so exciting and challenging.

Email : christabbott@fsmail.net

Marcello Di Bonito

Marcello Di Bonito is an Environment Officer in Nottingham, he has a 1st degree in Earth Sciences from Naples, and a 2nd degree in Environmental Sciences from Nottingham. He first began his interest in photography at the age of 8yrs old on a school trip!

In the era of digital, I could consider myself a dinosaur,as I am very affectionate about 'old' films, slides and traditional black and white being my favourite medium. I started photography when a camera landed in my hands during a school trip to Pompei, I haven't stopped since then! I was completely captured by the amazing possibilities that you can attain whilst watching the world through a very small rectangular eye. Catching portions of the reality to encapsulate what is striking you at a specific time, in a specific moment, and keep it forever. It is like producing new realities with every shot, borrowing bits of a bigger reality, the one out there, to compose your own story, your dreaming journey through life, and the lives of the people you meet on your journey. I am exploring at the moment, looking at the world through others and by taking a picture, telling their story.

marcello.dibonito@yahoo.it

Matthew Rhodes

For as long as I can remember, I have had two passions in life, graphic design and movies. I am quite confident that I'll never be a movie star, so, with the need to find an original birthday present for a friend, my career as a fake movie star began.
I have been creating fake movie poster as gifts for a few years now, but have through this recent work developed a character called "White Dolemite. My personal graphic design work has slowly become a document of the career of this fake film star. And as the idea has grown, so has White Dolemite. He is not only a film actor, but also a recording artist and official face of "Prince" cigarettes and "Real Sangria" All of which is completely untrue, but through this work I hope to convince that during 70's, an actor forged and broke his own career without anyone noticing, leaving behind nothing but a collection of movies, record sleeves, magazine articles and adverts.

I have studied graphic design and worked in various aspects of the industry for some 10 years. The career of White Dolemite is a personal project done in my spare time.

For further information please email reverendvideomat@yahoo.co.uk

Anna Wels

Kate Clark

The primary concern of my work is with the interaction of colours. By their positioning, colours respond and react to each other and can be manipulated to create unusual effects and movement. I use a range of bold colours and lines to enhance this process, also creating the illusion of depth and space in otherwise two-dimensional works. My use of board for some pieces enables me to experiment with unconventional shapes, which add another layer to the spatial dimension.

My paintings are based on complex colour codes, yet the aim is for serenity and harmony despite tonal dissonance. Although my work is mainly commission-based, I take inspiration from seasonal modes and vivid moments of colour in everyday life.

Email: kateclarkart@hotmail.com

Niall Young

I have been an artist for as long as I can remember, but have been working professionally for the last two and a half years. I studied art at Derby College of Higher Education, finishing in 1980 and since then have concentrated on developing the technique of Hyper-pointillism – the use of millions of tiny dots of ink placed individually by Rotoring pens to build a realistic, often exaggerated, image. I have exhibited my work at Derby Museum and Art Gallery, Derby Playhouse Gallery, Derby Guildhall, the Wirksworth Festival, Cromford Mill, Derby Arboretum Orangery, the Willington Festival and Buxton Pavilion.

I take inspiration from the work of the Surrealists and Pre-Raphaelites, those who exploit symbolism and allegory within their pictures to make comments about life. I enjoy creating a juxtaposition of images that have something to say, that use a visual vocabulary to explore the issues of life, dreams and fantasies. These can be quite personal to me, but I hope not inaccessible to others, who can overlay their own significance. My aim is to produce work containing recognisable, highly defined, at times exaggerated images, which when seen in combination can be aesthetically pleasing, yet can challenge, disturb or unsettle.

Pericle Zanchetta

Becky Syson

I’m a self taught artist with a love of everything creative and inspirational. Being an aspiring singer-songwriter, I have most recently self-released my debut album ‘H.O.L.L.A.N.D’ and toured the UK, supporting the likes of Phil Campbell, Martha Tilston, and Amy Studt and recording a live acoustic feature for BBC Nottingham.
The title track ‘H.O.L.L.A.N.D’ is a song that I wrote about two years ago after a moment’s inspiration whilst visiting my grandparents' home. It was my grandmas' birthday at the time and in one of her cards, in my grandad’s spider like handwriting was written the word 'H.O.L.L.A.N.D'.

My grandma told me that this anagram stood for ‘Hope Our Love Lasts And Never Dies', and was a constant feature in his letters to her written throughout their lives together. She still keeps all those letters today, many of which were sent when my grandad was stationed far from home in Gatow, close to Berlin as an RAF Police Dog Handler. It's heart-warming to know that over 50 years later my grandad still writes 'H.O.L.L.A.N.D' in my grandmas' birthday cards. Their love has stood the test of time, and this led me to think how I would feel to be parted from the people I loved? What must it be like for so many other soldiers, in so many other conflicts, torn apart from their families and loved ones? What could possibly keep them all going when times get tough?

My song 'H.O.L.L.A.N.D' is not only dedicated to my grandparents; Maurice and Olive Syson, but also to my own true love and to everyone around the world who believes in love, hope and peace. My song is a calling for peace and a hope that one day we can live with ourselves, each other and the earth without conflicts that tear us apart.
The acrylic paintings that I produced for my album launch night are a reflection of my album artwork and represent a little insight into each individual song. My decision to use only black and white was done deliberately to highlight the inspiration behind my songs; light and dark, life and death, peace and war. It is then left to my songs to colour in the rest.

My other artworks are based around the ideas of human imagination and nature; their connections, mysteries and spirit. Here I use a combination of pencil, pastels and collage to create something unique and alive with texture and contrast. I work as I think; that every moment of life holds endless possibilities and inspirations. To capture that moment in a song or a piece of art is my driving force and once inspiration takes hold I’m lost in the flow of creativity.

Beth Choo

Strength & Fragility (Acrylic on canvas, 2008)

Beth completed a Fine Art degree specialising in Painting at Loughborough University, and has since gone on to train in the field of Art Therapy.

She looks for beauty in all things and represents this in both a realistic and abstract way. Science and nature is a recurring theme in her work, and she often focusses on the use of texture.

Beth is available for commissions.

Multiplefrogs@hotmail.com

Laurie Clark

I am a multi-disciplined artist who creates art through various techniques including painting , photography, mixed media and printmaking, which I studied at Manchester Metropolitan University. I am excited by the possibilities of different materials and how their properties can determine a final outcome.

Whichever medium I am using, pattern, colour and space always feature heavily in my work. I am currently developing a series of paintings infusing vintage wallpaper designs, fabrics and nature. They are heavily influenced by the patterns and colours of the Art Deco period, in particular the work of Henry Mackintosh. Within these paintings I have tried to give a sense of history , leaving the impression that they are fragments of a time gone by.

A key characteristic of many of my paintings is the smooth gradation of colour in focal areas. A technique I commonly use to create this is layering different coloured paints from light to dark and then using a cloth to rub away at the top darkest layer; subtly revealing the colours beneath. Once colour has been established I then go on to add definition and detail.

Artists who inspire me are Beatriz Milhaze and her bold use of print, Mark Rothko’s use of complimentary colours and the contemporary surface patterns of designers such as Petra Boase and Atelier Izc.

Gemma Fielding

My artworks are experiments in which my paintbrush takes many forms; my hands, newspaper, cardboard, the paint tube… Every different tool makes its own unique mark. I paint in layers, moving away from the piece at each stage, returning with fresh eyes, then adding new blocks of colour or scraping parts away. A painting can take from hours to days to complete and every piece is unique as I never have a set idea of how the canvas will turn out in the end. I may select certain colours that I’d like to work with but am very spontaneous with the application.

Inspiration can come from anywhere… nature, people, everyday objects, decay, graffiti, patterns, the skyline, buildings… I see beautiful images everywhere, which I hold in my mind and translate into an abstract work of art
I am influenced in particular by 1950’s Abstract Expressionism. Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns are particular favourites for their experimental and innovative techniques.

Painting for me is an enjoyable and relaxing escape from reality. It’s free and organic and the results can never be determined. I easily get attached to my paintings as I know I’ll never do a piece like it again.

Email: gemmafielding81@hotmail.com

Lubna Hashmi

Madeline Bradshaw

Jane Rafter

My name is Jane Elizabeth Rafter and I have a BA(hons) degree in Graphic Design from De Monfort University, Leicester, but my oil painting is mainly self taught. I worked in the design industry for 14 years while painting in my spare time. I have been painting full time since January 2007.

Published work
My paintings have been featured in Nottingham City Life and South of the River Magazines.

Previous Exhibitions:
‘The Gallery’ Mill Hill Redrow Show home in Bingham
The Djanogly Summer Open, Nottingham
Friar Lane Gallery, Nottingham
Beeston Arts Festival

Concept/idea behind artwork
Through my work I strive to communicate my feelings and responses to the subject or place, capturing the colour and light in an atmospheric, emotive way. With each painting a moment in time is captured forever and I know I’ve given a little of myself away.

Materials Used
Daler – Rowney oil paint in a limited palette of cyan, magenta, yellow, black & white. Loxley chunky stretch canvasses.

Inspirations/artists
Nicholas Archer for his magnificent use of colour and expressive style, Gustav Klimt for his perfect compositions and stylised, sinuous lines and Nick Hedderley(based here in Nottingham) for his atmospheric city scenes.

jeraffe@dsl.pipex.com

Lisa Calkin Beazeley

My current work attempts to show that beauty may be found in
everyday urban items. Motorways and buildings are placed side by
side with greenery and a careful use of colours to make decorative
and illustrative fabric pieces for use in wall art, fashion & interiors.

My childhood and familial history in the Nottingham rag trade caused
me study textile design. My works combines traditional drawing and
printing techniques with textile processes and sticthery in producing imagery.

Having recently graduated with a full distinction profile, I now hope to
work as a freelance designer, workshop facilitator and sessional teacher.

All enquiries very welcome at: www.lisabeazeley@hotmail.com

Clare Morgan

I am an artist and teacher, I am always learning in my practice and my profession, always with a desire to try new things. I have a Fine art background having studied at the University of Derby. Since graduating I have maintained my art practice, taking part in several group shows around the East Midlands and London. I have recently participated in the Oregon Print exchange.

I have always been drawn to experimenting with media and have a love for drawing and painting. Recently I have discovered printmaking as a medium, it is such an exciting process blurring the boundaries between 2D and 3D, it is an excellent vehicle for expression as it allows me to focus on imagery through texture, line, and tone and then rework the images as much as I want.

At the heart of my aesthetic practice is my interest in the female figure, the scrutiny it comes under and the connotations and perceptions in society surrounding the body. Having a very difficult relationship with my own body it could be the escapism of creating something beautiful and having people become voyeurs admiring or strutinising, passing judgment on the figures I have created.

The images often take shape in sketchbooks, where I ‘play’ with images and ideas, letting my imagination roam and when I have a plate I can select and adapt the imagery according to the process I choose to use. The figures are either from mass media or from life models with whom I have no relationship too, this means the images become purely about the body, the space it occupies or narratives I can create.
Miss_clare83@hotmail.co.uk

Ruth Joyce

Ruth has been drawing her whole life, and is completely self taught. Her work focuses on punk music, passion, skating, bmxing, love, joy, determination, surfing, snowboarding, ferocity, youth and spirit. Her characters are extremely dark and unusual, but their vibrancy gives them an edge you don’t often see. The girls are awesomely powerful, and the guys fiendishly energetic.

There is very little out there that is parallel to her work, both in style and subject, which makes it unique and rare. This variety of artwork is not simply for the young, but more importantly for the young at heart.

She also has her own popular cartoon characters ‘Wuss ‘n Boots’ who are often commissioned in personalised cartoon strips or coloured paintings.

She has had several exhibitions in the last three years, including in the prestigious towns Stamford and Oakham, and a show in Waterstone’s in Leicester. Her work hangs in several local shops, both fashion and skate outlets, a restaurant and a youth centre. She also regularly receives commissions, although it must be noted that these are done in her unique style. No fluffy bunnies or pretty landscapes here!

You can contact Ruth by email at Ruth@ruthjoyce.co.uk
Her website is www.ruthjoyce.co.uk & www.myspace.com/imsurethataintlegal

Julie McHugh

My work concerns the human condition. I have an interest in the workings of the human body and mind. I am also concerned with mortality/immorality.

I am currently studying for a HNC in Fine Art at South Notts College.
Julie.mchugh@talktalk.net

Amanda Nield

History shows us that nature’s essence has been at the centre of civilisation from the dawn of time. It has helped us to shape the belief systems and mythology that we still live by today. Most of this goes un-noticed, primarily because it has been inter-woven into our sub consciousness. I use this as my starting point when I develop work. I work on a metaphysical level looking to mystery and symbolism which exists through our engagement with the world around us.

All in nature is a continuous cycle, forming, living, decaying and re-forming. It consist of light and dark...duality, neither one existing without the other. I am interested in drawing influences form these esoteric elements of living things.

I generally work with paint and collage which are always organic and figurative in form. I find myself working instinctively with layers that incorporate transparency and texture...this enables me to develop pieces that are shaped not only by an initial seed of an idea but by the patterns that form as I work. I like my works to reveal the energy within that is ever-changing, never destroyed but always evolving.

I studied at Liverpool for my degree in Performance design but soon changed direction creatively when I moved to London. I began working primarily in 2D form, my childhood interests of fantasy and myth colouring my work. My painting evolved further after I moved to Nottingham into the ethereal – art nouveau form that it is today. My love of Pre Raphaelite and Celtic art along with fantasy illustrators such as Alan Lee and Brian Froud started me on the path of my current style.

I have now been involved in a number of exhibitions in Nottingham including the Surface gallery in 2006, the View from the Top gallery in 2007 and the Nottingham Open Studios in October 2007.

amandasplanet@yahoo.com

Stewart Gregory

I am a Nottingham based photographer producing contemporary landscape images. Whilst I am largely self-taught I have recently completed a 3 year BTEC digital photography course at South Nottingham College to expand my photographic horizons and learn new digital skills.

Some of my fellow students and I from the South Nottingham College course have decided to maintain our association and form a photography group of like-minded individuals: the Raw Collective. We aim to stage occasional exhibitions together. We have previously exhibited at View From the Top Gallery and, more recently, at Beeston. My work was also exhibited in View’s recent photography show.

The images on display here are from my final year project. The images set out to interpret the work of poets and writers who have found inspiration in abandoned landscapes and, in doing so, to question whether abandonment is necessarily detrimental to the landscape.

The work is presented as a series of limited edition fine art prints employing a digitally created lith effect. Dark room produced lith prints would show high contrast with accentuated grain shadows and delicate highlights. These are qualities I felt were appropriate to the subjects and have been digitally created to produce the final prints for this work.

The work is to be exhibited at the Moot Hall Gallery, Keswick, Cumbria in November and further images from the work can be seen on my website at www.stewartgregoryphotography.co.uk

Website: www.stewartgregoryphotography.co.uk

Rob Parker

Rob Parker’s fine art photography is inspired by his interest in capturing objects and places that have been left behind in time and social change, where the sites and items have survived whilst the rest of the world carries on without them. Often scenes are desolate, with no obvious human presence, like a footprint left behind in history.
More work can be viewed at www.pylonphotography.co.uk.

Victoria Thorpe

I have always been interested in art from an early age and for the past 3 years I have been studying at South Nottingham College. In September I will start my second year studying my Higher National Diploma in Fine Art. Previous to this I studied my BTEC National Diploma in General Art and Design.

I have been involved in three college end of year exhibitions and the fourth will be taking place in June next year. Fresh 2 is the first exhibition I have applied for outside of the college.

The idea for my artwork came from my most recent exhibition project titled “Superstitions”. For “Superstitions” I experimented with juxtaposing different techniques and crafts together, for example the use of appliqué and acrylic paint. For “The Frog Prince” I wanted to take this to the next level, experimenting more with decoration for example knitting, embroidery and the use of quilting. The idea for “The Frog Prince” came from my interest in fairy tales and the Victorian era, and also from the superstition where if you kiss a frog, he will turn into a handsome prince. I have also submitted a triptych of paintings mainly inspired by fairytales. The main theme behind my work as a whole is the idea of fairytales seeming innocent on the surface, but they also have a darker side to them when you look deeper into the stories.

Materials used: acrylic paint, printed voile, cotton fabrics, embroidery threads, sequins, metallic yarn, beads.
Processes/Crafts used: knitting, crochet, appliqué, embroidery, stumpwork, beading, quilting.

Artists that have inspired me most recently are Erté for his illustrative designs and Charlotte Atkinson for her painting techniques. Textile Artists that have influenced these pieces the most are Angharad South for her inspirational appliqué techniques and Zara Merrick whose work inspired me to experiment with acrylic paint and textiles.

Eireann Lorsung

I make prints, drawings, dioramas, and paper constructions as a way of understanding the world around me and my relationship to it and to the people I meet, using repeated symbols to represent these places, people and myself. Understandably, therefore, the work I make can feel very personal. I tend to work in a small scale (partially because I’ve been moving from place to place for the past few years), which also lends a feeling of intimacy to the work.

The medium I’m working in primarily now is etching. I make prints at the Leicester Print Workshop, and at the moment I’m particularly interested in exploring the possibilities of chine collee for my prints.

I was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota(United States), and studied printmaking at the University of Minnesota and the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica (Venice, Italy). I’m interested in the work of William Kentridge, Kiki Smith, Paula Rego, and Huang Yong Ping. My work has been shown at the Regis Center for Art and at Letterbox (Minneapolis, Minnesota), and my writing appears in journals such as Prairie Schooner, Barrelhouse and Diode. My first book was published by Milkweek Editions(U.S) in 2007.
www.ohbara.com
eireann@gmail.com

Claire Flint

My inspiration comes from the combination of organic forms found in nature and elements of man made industrial materials. I love the control of nature and how it can change and form the landscape around us overpowering and manipulating the environment. It amazes me how it can create something so naturally astounding by the most simple of processes. What also fasinates me is our (human) impact on the landscape our development and structures that can form very different creations in our environment.

Taking aspects from both forms I recreate these in a controled yet experimental way to form a representation of the relationship between the two subjects. Using a mixture of materials and processes while experimenting with shape and texture a conclusion is formed from the outcome of these activities. Particular attention is payed to the production of my work and paint is used as a physical medium by thinking about the marks it creates and the traces it leaves on the working surface. The surfaces are built up of heavily layered paint across stretched canvas that intrude the viewers plain with their uneven edges and depth.

Website: www.claireflint-fineart.com
Email: misshoodhood@hotmail.com

Nuno B Jorge

I’m a Multimedia Artist and Digital Illustrator based in Nottingham and half of the collective gatafunho.com. I’ve studied multimedia at Nottingham Trent University until 2005 and I work currently in both multimedia design and Illustration.

Since 2006 I’ve developed different series of personal illustrations based on imaginary and often symbolic characters, the opposite from the commercial illustration work I’ve developed until that date. These illustrations, never exhibited until now, combine different (sometimes opposite) influences, such as 40s American Cinema aesthetics, Situationism attitudes and different symbolisms and Pop influences in Graphic Arts (to name a few) to create Reality detournements, always with an ironic and kitsch twist.

Most of my illustrations are developed having a central character as the initial starting point, exploring the concept of portrait, to then develop the situation illustrated

Alan Douglas

Photography has always been an interest but only in the past couple of years have I started to study and take my interest to new levels.

I am self taught. I recently joined a local camera club and in my first year had a selection of pictures displayed at the club’s annual exhibition and gained a certificate of merit for one of my images.

Most of my work is within the field of Natural History. I try to create an image that will show part of the bird or animals character or, for that split second of time recorded, show an image that will evoke an emotional response from the viewer, or portray a side of the subject we would normally miss in real time.

Lora Redman

I have worked as an illustrator from my studio in Nottinghamshire since 2003, working in a range of different areas including editorial, design and greetings cards..

My illustration work is a combination of mixed media including collage, paint, drawing and print making. I scan a range of drawings, colours and textures and use Photoshop to design my images giving my work a contemporary feel. I like to ensure my work maintains the hand made quality which gives it its unique personal style. Drawing is an important aspect of my work, I like to experiment with linear quality and I have a particluar interest in creating characters.

My work is adaptable and I work in a variety of areas such as celebrity illustrations and caricatures, travel and food illustration and management and business.

Since graduating from Loughborough University I have enjoyed completing commissions for a wide range of clients including: The Independent, The Guardian, The Lawn Tennis Association,The Big issue, TES, Ace Tennis Magazine, People Management,Community Care, Delicious Magazine and Nursery World.

www.loraredman.com

Paul Bowring

Paul Bowring was born in Bristol in 1969. After graduating from Derby University in 1998 with a degree in Fine Art, Paul moved to Nottingham where he currently lives and works. He exhibits regularly and is a member of the Thingland studio group, located in the Oldknows Factory building in St Anns. Paul is currently collaborating with Matthew Vickerstaff and Charlotte Thomson on the Danse Macabre exhibition.

Paul mainly works with acrylic paints on canvas. Rather than pre-plan a painting he prefers to work directly onto the canvas with a palette knife, utilizing the figurative elements and structures that emerge as the paint is applied and thus allowing the image to evolve. Sometimes a strong composition emerges quickly, but often a painting goes through numerous transformations before a gratifying result is achieved. This technique allows space for the 'happy accident', the mark or splash of colour which completely changes the direction in which the painting progresses and helps to provide a striking composition.

Rather than base his images on actual places or people, Paul draws upon the darker reaches of his subconscious, which he regularly feeds with strange, esoteric and fantastical literature, extreme and challenging music and dark, thought-provoking films (with or without sub-titles!). As a result of this heady mix his work is often imbued with a sense of mystery, an aura of otherworldliness and the essence of Gothic Romanticism. There seems to be an underlying narrative in his images which is never fully revealed. Figures can be discovered poised in archways, caught between light and dark, hesitating or caught in a moment of reverie, sometimes pursued by the unknown and at other times facing it with resolve. It’s hard to tell whether these figures are even real or if this is just some fevered dream.

Paul's artwork invites the viewer to create their own interpretation of the events that seem to be unfolding.

Website: www.thepaintdistresser.com
Email: paulbowring@thepaintdistresser.com

Charlotte White

Davide Tarsitano

I have explored several areas of photography throughout the years (e.g studio photography) and at the moment my main interest is ‘abstract photography’. This involves extrapolating details from their overall context and making them the subject of the picture. The result is that everyday objects can produce an interesting artistic design. This can be achieved using macro lens combined with light and shadows and depth of field.

I tend to bring with me the camera everywhere I do, as often the ‘right’ picture is in the most unexpected place. A recurrent question that I am being asked is ‘why do you take pictures?’ or may be what they really mean is ‘why are you so passionate about taking pictures?’. I believe that photography is a very powerful tool as it allows me to catch images that may exist only for a moment and in addition it can give life to objects that otherwise may fade away in the rush of everyday life.

d.taristano@gmail.com
www.davidetarsitano.co.uk

Jax Checkland

I am a first year HND Fine Art student, currently studying at South Nottingham College, Nottingham.

I would consider myself to be a Multi-media artist , because I enjoy experimenting with different media. I have worked in Installation, Performance, Photography, and I also love painting on canvas.

My main artistic area now is Painting and I have just finished my first exhibition at college, in which I entered a 6 foot square abstract canvas.

My themes I normally work with to produce my pieces, come from modern, popular culture and are always topics which come from my heart, and that I am passionate about. My current work captures my feelings and experiences of recent journeys I have made

The most influential artist to me at the moment is Gerhard Richter, for his use of colour I find him a great inspiration.

Email: jax.checkland@yahoo.co.uk

John Oscroft

I am a local self taught artist, based in Nottingham.

The idealised expression of the human figure is the focal point of my work. My acrylic-on-canvas paintings are stylistic images of modern women – women who are sophisticated and self-confident; keeping the viewer at arm’s length, while also engendering a desire to know more.

The style of my work is reminiscent of the art of Patrick Nagel and tends to reflect my interest in modern fashion. ‘Red Hat’ was originally inspired by the Ralph Lauren spring collection.

The inspiration for ‘Sunflower’ came from my numerous trips to Spain and my love of all flowers, particularly sunflowers.

‘Sunflower’ was mostly completed by applying a mixture of acrylic paint and structure gel, to the canvas, by palette knife. The exception being the seeds where I have piped the same paint mixture onto the canvas, in the same manner that one would decorate a cake. My objective was to produce a pleasing and tactile surface.

For further information, I can be contacted by e-mail at oscroftjohn@hotmail.com.

Mike Choo

Poetess’ Play
(Digital Print, 2008)

Mike is a trainee Graphic Designer, studying at New College Nottingham. He holds a degree in Design Technology, but Graphics is much better. He is firmly of the belief that good typography is pretty much the most awesome thing in the world. Except his wife. Who is a bit more awesome than that.

He has previously exhibited in the Resolution Photography exhibition (2008), and has produced adverts, catalogues and graphics for mountain bike companies.

Poetess’ Play is a piece of sequential art, illustrating a song by the artist Tina Dico. It was produced by scanning paint marks, and manipulating them in Photoshop to give a textured, organic background. The foreground elements were pencilled, and then digitally inked.

The key was to convey the sense of loss and melancholia that pervades the song, and allow the lady character to experience a journey, while the more subtle representative aspects allow a deeper interpretation.

Mike is available for Graphic Design, Photography and Illustration commissions. He has not caught fire for a long time (note: this is to say that he has literally not been on fire – his enthusiasm for his work is all pervading).

michael_choo@hotmail.com

Sheila Ryan

I am a self taught abstract artist working with acrylic and oil mediums. Using varied utensils for ‘painting’, my works are all unique refusing to be labelled or boxed. I first picked up the paintbrush in 2001 whilst living in London yet only began painting more regularly after moving to the East Midlands in 2004. My art is in the abstract genre releasing my expression of our society. I believe that you feel art more than you see it.

The artists most influential to me are:
Picasso for how he understood human nature and pain.
Rothko for his depth of emotion transferred through colour and shade.
Van Gough displays the release painting gave whilst living with mental health issues and his struggles with coping with life.
William Morris for his holistic dedication to Art and the ethos that Art is for All.

Encouraged to enter my first Open Art Exhibition in 2005 at Mansfield Museum I gained more confidence and belief in my works. I entered and had my works shown at three more local exhibitions in 2007. Entering the RA Summer Exhibition in 2007 being selected but not hung was quite an experience. In 2008, it was exciting but disappointing. Yet never say never....there is always next year!

Sheilaryan1950@hotmail.co.uk

Adrian Shaw

A professional artist and educator, with science and media training

A graduate in Fine Art from Central St. Martin’s College, London Institute. He also trained at Nova Scotia in Halifax, Canada. He is a registered with Southern Arts as an artist-for-schools. In this later regard, he has a certificate in Mentoring and has been involved with INSET programmes for secondary school art teachers. He is a founder-Member of London New Expressionists, a Member of NAWE & ARTSCAPE and NCN.
An honours-graduate of Central St. Martin’s College, London Institute. Adrian has also obtained training in advanced studiowork and curatorship at Nova Scotia College of Art & Design and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Canada (he has dual UK-Canadian Citizenship).

Adrian has also been a Greater London writer-in-schools and project officer, and a poet with both Ottawa and Hounslow Arts. He has had exhibitions in the K and Overseas.

In keeping with his broad range of interests and experience, and his mixed-culture (Anglo Indian). Adrian has designed, developed and marketed courses in ‘Science-Art: the Overlap’, and ‘Light, Memory and Identity: the role of the Hybrid in Fine Art’ (BA Thesis, Central St. Martin’s College of Art & Design, London Institute, 2001).
He has taught Advanced-level art and Further and Higher education courses- including Access/Foundation studies at Tower Hamlets University Summer School in East London. He has also taught Political and East European studies at Morley College, London, and Sciences/Chemistry elsewhere. His artistic practice investigates and applies mixed-media and photographic based methods and techniques to Painting, as well as assemblage, installation and collage. He is also interested in Film and Video, and IT applications.

CONTACT DETAILS:
E-MAIL: Adredshaw@yahoo.co.uk
ADShaw-Sci-Art.org


Sci-Art basically investigates the relationship between the arts and sciences by creative professionals. Adrian Shaw is both an artist and a scientist, which gives him a unique perspective. Adrian studied science at Birkbeck and Imperial Colleges, University of London, and art at Central St. Martin's College of Art. Adrian is a flexible, lateral thinker and problem solver specialising in course/project marketing and development, with both wide and particular interests. He has worked in UK and North American industrial, governmental & educational sectors, with over 30 years’ experience including project management. Currently, he is working on Post-Graduate courses in Art.

Research interests include: Research and Development of Analytical Chemical methods applied to biomolecules, heavy metals and toxic gases; synthesis of natural and synthetic organics.

Light based methods, painting and photography are applied to art projects. New courses/projects in 'Sci-Art' and 'Environmental Science & Society'. Film theory & practice. Media & Science. Politics, etc.


Adrian undertakes commissions in writing, marketing and also teaching in art, science, media, humanities and creative writing.

Lorna Hooper

Observing the resonance of the face is the essence of my work. I attempt to understand the feel of a person through images; the subtle, unspoken qualities unique to each individual. I fragment these images, often only revealing small details of the face, as though uncovering slight but significant remnants of the past. This fragmentation occurs in my photography through the use of strong light, obscuring much of the face into shadows out of which the nature of the person emerges. I believe that this visual deconstruction penetrates the façade, delving deeper than the aesthetics of the face, revealing traces of the person underneath.

My work focuses in particular on women. As a female artist, I explore my views and reflections on the female mind, identity and emotions. Through painting women I feel that I am intensifying my knowledge and understanding of my subjects. This recurring interaction is like a conversation between us. In particular, I am fascinated by Virginia Woolf as a woman, as a writer, as an iconic and literary figure, her life, her intellect and her voice through her writing. I believe there is an imprint of her life on the world that resonates through her creations; perceivable through her face. I am trying to capture something of that resonance. Through constructing images I am creating a reality which, although may not be factually true, has a truth of its own through my perception of the person.

Jacky Webb

I studied Biology at Manchester University and still work in scientific research. Part of my training was to look at the natural world in detail, which has inspired my artwork. I am interested in the variety of patterns and colours that can be found around us. This includes the abstract beauty that can be found within the more contrived biological samples from the world of scientific research.

I always start with a photo so that although my work appears abstract at first glance, it is actually based closely on an original subject. All my work is textile based, using threads or fabrics to “paint” my pictures. For this exhibition I printed the photos on cotton fabric and then enhanced them with hand embroidery.

I exhibited in for the first time last year in this exhibition. Since then I have become an affiliate of the Nottingham Society of Artists and exhibited with them in their autumn exhibition and affiliates exhibition. I have also exhibited here at this year in their photography exhibition and at the recent Beeston Art Festival.


jacky@j-webb.me.uk

Steven James Ingman

Born in 1984 Steven James Ingman grew up in a rural farming community near Bawtry, Doncaster. Steven James Ingman lived there until gaining a place at Lincoln University in 2002 to study Fine Art. Upon graduating in 2007, Ingman moved to Nottingham to pursue his ideas in capturing the city environment.

It is the complete change of lifestyle that influences Ingman's work – being thrust into an unfamiliar environment of bold colours and ferocious sounds. Emotion bounces back off the canvas at the viewer as Ingman's aggressive passion with paint turns the canvas into an emotional dialogue of new beginnings.

"I use the paint, physically moulding it with my fingers and scraping with a pallet knife. The use of a pallet knife is quick and efficient in the creation of the composition. I enjoy the tactile quality of the paint, playing with it as a physical substance. Many people who observe my work have the urge to physically feel and touch the paint strokes. Indeed I appreciate and enjoy the qualities of the finished texture and this is something that I look for in my work”

Awards
University of Lincoln Purchase Prize Winner 2007
Exhibitions (selection)

Landscape v Cityscape Open - May 2008 Claire Galleries, (Birmingham – UK)
Nottingham Castle Open - November 2007, Angel Row Gallery, (Nottingham – UK)
Fresh Open show - August 2007, View from a top Gallery, (Nottingham, UK)
Lincoln University Degree show - May 2007, (Lincoln, UK)
Open plan - January 2007, Group exhibition, Tyler Gallery, (Philadelphia, USA)



Ingman@hotmail.com
www.steveningman.co.uk

Gerard Hilderly

As a relatively new artistic photographer, I would like to submit my most recent work depicting three characters from the livestock world who have been bred responsibly and conscientiously to maintain optimum health.

My objective was to visit some of the healthiest breeds in the country and portray more than the everyday image of modern British livestock.

I have always believed that you can see more of an animal than the breed alone and have long maintained a strong belief that each individual has a personality that can be witnessed by capturing the true moment when a creature’s charisma comes alive.
Character and expression can be seen to a greater extent in a healthy animal and in the three photographs I have used the early morning light to aid extracting the true temperament and disposition of the animals.

Four Legged spirit is designed to encapsulate spirit within the livestock and provoke the audience to observe the expression held at the point the shutter opened and challenge all that view to compare to the expression of the animal to that of a two legged human.

Although colour photography has been used, the collection is mainly monochrome, which enhances the shadows and diffuses the background, enabling the viewer to concentrate on the foreground and the characters themselves.

The photographs exhibited are the first that I have presented although I have been working as a photographer for over a year and have a wide range of subjects and assignments mainly depicting the characters and expressions of family members and loved ones.

My technique is predominantly self taught although I was encouraged by my Grandfather who was had a photographic business and trained the RAF in the art of aerial photography during the war.

Having always held a strong interest in Photography I predominantly find myself influenced and inspired by the work of Henri Cartier Bresson, a photographer who believed in the moment and that when a moment is captured, the photographer is truly creative.

Joan Beal

I have studied for two hours a week at W.E.A classes for two years. Last year, aged 72 I suffered a stroke, my art played an important part in my recovery. I needed to get better so that I could get on with my drawing and painting. In June this year I won the best in exhibition for my Mini car painting. This was the only exhibition I have entered any of my paintings into.

I try to use unusual subjects and materials in my work. The portrait was achieved by using instant coffee as one of the materials. I do not comply to many rules, sometimes it works, other times it doesn’t, I do not worry about the failures.
I just try again!

Email: joanbeal@hotmail.co.uk

Mel Bridges

Colour is often a starting point for me when I paint. I love the texture of oils, and the opportunity they allow to go back to a piece and rework it while the paint remains wet. I use palette knives to apply the paint and create different effects.
Nature inspires me hugely and themes from this can be seen in my work, although at other times my work takes a more abstract form, developing out of different shapes lines, and colours.

A recurring them through my work is that of there being more to see than simply what is contained within the ‘frame’ that a canvas provides. This is why I choose to paint the sides of the canvas as well as the ‘face’, and have done some pieces where the frame becomes part of the picture.

I am based in a studio in Derby, which I have been using since May this year. This has allowed me time and space to paint, having spent the last four years looking after my two small children.

My formal art training began with an AS Level in Art and Design. Following this I completed an Art Foundation course at the Surrey Institute of Art and Design before moving to Derby to complete a BA in Creative Expressive Therapies. This degree allowed me to further develop my own art form, together with looking more at the therapeutic potential of creativity. The course finished with a final year degree show, which all students were involved in planning and setting up, as well as exhibiting work.

Valerie Powell

I am 65 years old with 3 daughters and 5 grandchildren. After retiring at the age of 62, I decided to join a WEA class in mixed media. This was the beginning of my experience in art. Since then I have attended a drawing class, watercolour class, pastel and acrylic class. I enjoy trying different mediums and experimenting with effects. I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge although still consider myself to be a beginner.

I particularly admire the work of Monet and Mackintosh. I have had 4 pictures exhibited at the local library and won 2nd prize in an art competition. I am the local Church treasurer, a member of a banner group producing hangings for the Church and enjoy yoga.

Jane Marrows

I have created felted and stitched accessories for several years and I have in the last two years started to focus on stitched textile wall-pieces, which include mixed media of various sorts. These two pieces exhibited are hand-felted, using commercially and hand-dyed wool and silk fibres, together with surface hand and machine stitch, and embellishments.

Colour, pattern and texture inspire my work and for these two pieces, the first of a continuing series, I am using the theme of summer festivals and ‘al fresco’ living as starting points for design.

Whilst my university education is literature based – I am currently studying for an MA in English Literature – text often conjures up images, which are later developed in stitch. My textile qualifications take the form of successful completion of City and Guilds Textiles Part 1 and 2 with Distinction.

I regularly exhibit work and undertake free-lance textile teaching in the East Midlands. I co-ordinate Sneinton Artists, in Nottingham, and sell work through various craft outlets and events, including the Hub Centre for contemporary craft in Lincolnshire.

I am a member of the Derbyshire based exhibiting Textile group, ‘Living Threads’ and have exhibited and sold my work in exhibitions at Galleries and Venues in the East Midlands including ;-
Lustre, University of Nottingham
The Art Organisation, Nottingham
Trent and Erewash Museum, Ilkeston
The Rainbow Gallery, Eastwood
Holme Pierrepont Hall, Nottingham
‘Cover Versions’ View from the Top gallery, Nottingham
Green’s Windmill, Sneinton, Nottingham
Lady Bay Open Studios and Sneinton Artstrail
janemarrows@hotmail.com
janemarrowsdesigns.com

Janet Wootton

Janet Wootton is a communicator, both by profession and through her art. In 2007, she was one of the first students to graduate with a BA (Hons) in fine art from Nottingham University after six years of part time study.

My work has landscape origins and mainly explores the properties, surfaces, tensions and melting points of plastic-based materials and aluminium.

The finished work ranges from transparent images of a sensitive but highly colourful quality, to rugged relief paintings of a distinctive constructional and linear nature where horizon lines are significant.

Red, orange and black feature prominently in the work, which incorporates digital photography and printing, burning, painting and sculptural elements.

There is a recycling approach to much of my work through the reusing and re-working of plastic bags and aluminium sheet and wood and conversion into artworks via a process of change and evolution.

My graduation exhibition was called Surface Issues ad was at the Wallner Gallery, Lakeside, Nottingham in July 2007.

Janet is a former journalist and broadcasting regulator who now works as a visual arts and strategic communications consultant. She is also involved in the region's performing arts, singing and acting with several Nottingham companies.

Janet Wootton may be contacted via jane.wootton@ntlworld.com

Nicola Jane Rae

I am one of eight students who have recently completed a part-time degree course in Fine Art at the University of Nottingham. Our degree show was recently held at Lakeside Arts Centre.

My work is broadly about memory and loss, and makes reference to the marks and vestiges we leave behind. These traces are often re-used and re-interpreted by others - and may also be misunderstood.

I use found fragments not only as a source of inspiration, but also incorporate them within the work, to create pieces redolent of preserved artefacts, family photograph albums, or the Victorian ‘memento mori’. I do not envisage the finished piece of work, but allow the materials and process of making to dictate the final result.

Textile pieces, articles of clothing and old snapshots can be particularly evocative; leafing through a book is a tactile experience and allows time for reflection. The viewer thus has the opportunity to create their own version of a ‘history’, based around these fragments.

Thus my work is a form of recycling, which is also intended to honour the memory of those people, relationships or stages of life now in the past.

nicolarae@ntlworld.com

Hollie Brown

I am a First Class Honours Surface Patter Design Graduate, based in Leicestershire.
I am currently working as a freelance Designer for leading companies such as Tigerprint, Marks and Spencers Division, Hallmark Cards and Gibson Hanson Graphics, and I am represented by Black Olive Studios.

I also work on my own personal briefs showing in local exhibitions. I am currently working on a collection, a development from the award winning collection “Betty Loves Tea.”

My portfolio has a decorative, illustrative style demonstrating strong drawing skills with a lively imagination. My work is often humorous, quirky with a good eye for colour and composition.

I find inspiration from everyday life, observing the people around me, trend predictions inspire my use of colour keeping my work fresh and current.
The project titled “Betty Loves Tea” explores the quirky habits of the elderly through lively illustrations, painterly backgrounds and a skillful use of silk screen printing and dyes.

I have a passion for drawing, especially amusing characters that make me smile. I love to tell stories through my artwork. I hope that my work will appeal to people who also appreciate small humble things in life.

I am a passionate and highly motivated person I have a love for my work and a determination to succeed in a career I feel so passionate about.

Website: www.newdesignersonline.co.uk/holliebrown
Email: holliebrown@ hotmail.co.uk

David Booth

David Booth was born in Manchester in 1963. He is currently studying Fine Art at Derby University, where his work is receiving high praise. David works in painting , photography, sculpture and installation.

The canvasses have been produced out of a body of work completed during a period when the artist wanted to express

“time : not enough, too precious, too little”

The result is work that has an original voice. David has produced canvases whose layered detail has captured depth – journeys through time, journeys through the body, journeys of the mind. The results are vidually striking and have current contemporary references which evoke thoughts of stem cell images – this link was produced subconsciously by the artist but links strongly to one of the motivations for doing the time project – how when illness and death touch you closely you are made more aware of time
The materials used are Ink, Grass and Canvas

“The artists that have influenced me during my research were abstract expressionists, Cy Twombly and Jackson Pollock – their unique voice and technique. Through my research and experimentation I have found a technique, that I have been able to evolve, using grass. I have been able to produce paintings that, though frenetic in their production, result in a serene image that almost captures time allowing the viewer to move around the painting and discover.”


Email: davidbooth_artist@yahoo.co.uk

Tracy Mayfield

Having completed my Art A-level and completing a year at Nottingham Trent University on a textile design degree I've been able to develop my work using colour and texture as my main focus.

My work hugely influenced by the Abstract Expressionists of the 1940s and 50s. By using colour and shape to express emotion and feeling, they were pioneers in modern art. My main influences come from artists such as Mark Rothko, Barnett Norman and Mark Tobey. Their revolutionary ideas and methods of painting solid blocks of colour to stimulate and question the very essence of "What is Art?" is something that I can relate to with my own work. Their work was used to express emotion and went against the norm and I find this whole argument over what can be classed as art as intriguing and thought provoking.

The ideas behind my work involve using contrasting colours to create interesting, abstract pieces. I involve myself fully into each piece, making the frames, stretching the canvas, preparing the canvas ready to paint. I feel that the painting gets my full attention and becomes a unique, individual piece.

I am not inspired by any one thing. I will often look at different combinations of colour and texture, whether it's in nature or synthetic and wonder "Would that work as a painting?" or "How can I incorporate this into my work?" Because my paintings are based on how
I feel at that particular time I experiment with colours and will layer different ideas until I am happy.

I will often have a concept in my head and will test that it works on canvas, when I am happy I will work with the colours, usually only limited to about 2 or 3 and work with each brush stroke to make sure that the colours blend together. Sometimes a painting will be
completed in an hour sometimes a few days, I will continue to work with the painting until I am happy with how the colours have blended, the way the painting looks and then I can move onto the next stage; which is embellishing the canvas with beadwork, and sometimes threads. I feel that this gives each canvas a different side to it, by combining the bold and brash with delicate and subtle. I hope that the pieces I create are thought provoking and inspiring.

Insomnia II is a second version of a smaller piece that I have developed further. The original piece didn't have any embellishment.

My work can be seen at www.paintedghost.co.uk, my other pieces vary from photography and canvas work to digital media based images.

Contact:

E: paintedghost@gmail.com W: www.paintedghost.co.uk