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.