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ARTISTS 2020
Listed below are all participating artists taking part in the Cookham & Maidenhead Arts Trail 2020.
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Click on the images or the name for a link to each artist.
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CATEGORY Painting
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VENUE 9
124 Studios
30 Nicholsons centre
SL6 1LL
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Julie Bennett creates bold, unapologetically confident portraits that celebrate both the unknown and the famous through the immediacy of her paint handling. Dripping wet, broad-brush marks give an appearance of works that have been recently made. Bennett's gestural portraits allow her to examine in paint her fascination with the human face. Led by the process of painting she distorts the reality of the features to give her subjects an emotional charge as she considers the individual within a society increasingly driven by celebrity culture.
CATEGORY Texites
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VENUE 2
Nutfield,
Altwood Bailey,
Maidenhead,
SL6 4PQ
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Jane has worked as a Stitched Textile artist for many years, she is inspired by museum exhibits, architecture and travel. Pushing the boundaries of traditional hand and machine embroidery, Jane makes her own textiles by colouring and layering. She uses pattern, colour and stitching to achieve unique creative results.
CATEGORY Painting
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VENUE 9
124 Studios
30 Nicholsons centre
SL6 1LL
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Stephen is a self-taught painter, working primarily in oils and pastels. Motivated by a love for atmosphere and mood, he seeks to immerse the viewer in the subject through the use of light, colour and texture, whether a landscape or still life.
CATEGORY Painting
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VENUE CANCELLED
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Liz works mainly in watercolour and her first book, 'Painting watercolours on canvas' was published by the Crowood Press in June 2019.
Inspiration comes from the animals and plants she encounters in the fields and hedgerows, growing on the allotment, or living on her (regretfully imaginary) small holding. She aims for her paintings to raise a smile and make you see again the animals and flora we so often overlook. By doing so she hopes to nurture a more caring attitude to the wider environment.
She tries to capture the essence of the subject, rather than the detail, believing that what is left out is just as important as what is put in. Her paintings leave space for your imagination to wander, so are not usually set in a particular time and place.
“I aim to capture the spirit of the subject but also create a painting that contains a part of me as well’.
CATEGORY Glass
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VENUE 2
Nutfield,
Altwood Bailey,
Maidenhead,
SL6 4PQ
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My passion for glass and colour started almost 30 years ago. I love to explore the endless possibilities of working in glass and relish the anticipation of opening the kiln to see a new creation or creating a stained-glass window design for a customer. I will be showing both fused glass artworks alongside resin jewellery and am happy to take commissions.
CATEGORY Painting
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VENUE 9
124 Studios
30 Nicholsons centre
SL6 1LL
From dramatic rock formations to colourful tropical plants, Josie’s vibrant and joyful paintings reflect her love of the outdoors. She enjoys experimenting with process, playing with new perspectives in the landscape through colour and mark making.
CATEGORY Painting
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VENUE 1
Norden Farm Centre for the Arts,
Altwood Road,
SL6 4PF
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Based in West Berkshire, Cat finds her inspiration from the Berkshire Downs and from her travels to other forests and gardens. Cat paints the changing light of the seasons, attracted to strong contrasts, rich colours and natural patterns. Her intent is that every painting is the beginning of a story, a pathway or window that leads to something hidden in our imagination or memories.
CATEGORY Jewellery
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VENUE 6
186 Courthouse Road
SL6 6HU
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Incorporating movement, line and texture La forge designs is a collection of Jewellery using precious metal and beads. All pieces designed and made by Sarah Osborne Clark, use traditional methods. Many of the designs have been cut by hand, surface pattern added, formed and professionally finished. Each piece is bespoke, yet still a joy to be worn.
A small range of multi media artwork is also available, created and made by Sarah, totally unique and can be personalised.
CATEGORY Ceramics
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VENUE 7
30 Oaken Grove,
Maidenhead,
SL6 0HQ
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Susan is a ceramicist working in porcelain. She explores the properties, particularly translucency, of porcelain clay. This led to the development of her range of porcelain lamps and tea light holders. Each year she collects material from different places and in different seasons which she used to impress into the porcelain. This year, addition to the work created using plant material collected on her walks around her home in Taplow, she is working on a series of lamps and vessels using materials collected in the Chilterns. Alongside these she also makes delicate vessels with abstract images evoking the landscape and hand-built tableware designed for everyday use.
CATEGORY Painting
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VENUE 10
9 Ray Lea Close
SL6 8QN
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I am a figurative oil painter with work in collections throughout South Africa as well as in Chile, Germany and the United Kingdom.
My paintings are figurative/realistic and the subject matter is predominantly people.
I love working with the genre of portraiture but rather than paint people merely in order to ‘capture’ something of the sitter, I tend to use models as fictional characters in the stories I tell.
My paintings represent a 'simultaneousness' - a condensed allegory, history or tale, suggesting action that preceded the moment or something that is about to happen. I also use a language of private visual symbolism; objects and elements, alive with history and association.
They are clues – inviting the viewer to ask: what does it mean, why, what caused this to happen? Involving the viewer’s participation is immensely important to me and my goal as an artist, as a painter, is to create a visual moment that moves, haunts and creates a shared joy.
I do however thoroughly enjoy painting from life and have participated in Sky Art's (and Channel 4) Portrait Artist of the Year twice, making it to the final in the 2020 series.
CATEGORY Jewellery
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VENUE 9
124 Studios
30 Nicholsons centre
SL6 1LL
Grant is very new to the Jewellery scene, having spent 30+ years working in catering management he took the leap and turned what was a small hobby into a business and his livelihood. He took himself off to university and studied for a degree in design, graduating in 2017 and embarked on a new career at the age of 51. Since then he has gone from strength to strength and now teaches adult education, homeschool classes, after school clubs for 10 and 11 year olds as well as private lessons from his studio, on top of this he exhibits and sells his work all over the Berk and Bucks area as well as larger national craft and jewellery fairs.
CATEGORY Painting
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VENUE 7
30 Oaken Grove
SL6 6HQ
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Sarah is continuously inspired by nature, and paints landscapes en plein air where possible. As well as making studies of the Thames, a recent project has been to record the changing face of Maidenhead as it is redeveloped. She finds working from life challenging, especially in difficult weather conditions but believes the experience of direct observation including taking in the sounds and smells adds to capturing the atmosphere in the painting. Sometimes she completes a study in one go and for more complicated scenes she returns at the same time of day and as well as completing the painting in the studio. She works mainly in water mixable oil but sometimes watercolour. Sarah is equally passionate about painting and drawing portraits from life.
CATEGORY Sculpture
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VENUE 2
Nutfield,
Altwood Bailey,
Maidenhead,
SL6 4PQ
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Caroline's ceramic sculptures are made using a variety of techniques resulting in a diverse range of work that continues to evolve. She enjoys exploring the possibilities of clays and glazes, whilst interpreting natural and man-made forms from the environments she visits. Her jewellery consists of earrings made with silver and Porcelain clay and beads made with Polymer clay, a warm light material with vibrant colours blended to form unique pieces to wear to add a dash of colour to everyday.
CATEGORY Painting
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VENUE 3
Morar,
Altwood Close,
Maidenhead
SL6 4PP
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A biologist by training and excited by the ever changing landscape, Jo produces works based on observation alongside narrative and imaginative works that derive from natural forms and ancient artefacts. Her more imaginative works often start as intuitive drawings or experimental prints that suggest further development.
Jo's interest in the natural world may stem from her training, but she is equally at home drawing ancient objects in museums, quirky allotment sheds in Windsor or Maidenhead, or dreaming up dragons.
Jo shows regularly at the Menier Gallery, London, with the Society of Graphic Fine Art and last year her work was included in the Society's Centenary Exhibition at the Bankside Gallery. Jo feels very honoured to be a Past President of the Society. She is also a member of the Association of Illustrators.
CATEGORY Painting
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VENUE CANCELLED
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Wendy has always been drawn to painting, but her interest in Art changed dramatically twenty years ago, when she became involved in the use of art therapy working with young people with educational needs.
In 2013 she exhibited successfully for the first time, and has continued to do so. Wendy particularly enjoys showing her work in an environment where she us able to meet the public and discuss aspects of not only her work but art in general.
Her work captures the world around her, family, friends, nature, scenery –She loves being able to put what she sees and feels onto paper or canvas, and watching a picture evolve. Wendy loves bold colours, and the natural world always inspires her.
Recently ventured into looser, abstract and mixed media styles. Growing as an artist and developing fun workshops is very exciting.
CATEGORY Painting
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VENUE CANCELLED
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Maria’s work is influenced by the world around her. We live in a universe full of wonderful colours, shapes and humour, all waiting for her paint brush to capture it. This world we live in is never short of resources – so she never suffers from the dreaded artist block.
Maria’s main inspiration comes from Scotland and the British coast line. Originally from the Channel Islands, the sea is part of her roots, but Scotland provides magnificent scenery, with colours you never see anywhere else in the world, and the animals, from the magnificent deer to the sheep with their comical black faces.
Maria is a full-time professional artist, working in all mediums, but mainly oils. To be able to spend her life doing the thing she loves most is a dream come true for her. Maria feels her work is still developing and changing, which means she feels she is constantly on a very exciting journey.
I hope you enjoy looking at her work as much as she enjoys painting it!
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CATEGORY Ceramics
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VENUE CANCELLED
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Helen has been making pots for over twenty years at her studio in Crowthorne.
She make bowls, vases and a range of candle holders. Her inspiration is natural organic shapes and she incorporates these shapes in a range of outdoor sculptures.
Helen's pottery is hand built using coils and slabs which are decorated with oxides, coloured slips and a variety of glazes. Everything is fired to 1280 degrees making it very hard wearing and frost proof.
CATEGORY Ceramics
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VENUE 2
Nutfield,
Altwood Bailey,
Maidenhead,
SL6 4PQ
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Debbie’s work is handbuilt – her method of choice is coiling, often into purpose-made moulds. She uses white earthenware clay, and occasionally porcelain. Her glaze palette ranges from blues, to greens, reds and oranges. These are a combination of personally developed and mixed glazes together with commercial glazes.
Inspired by both Korean and Japanese ceramics, both ancient and modern, Debbie’s work reflects the strong simple forms and use of lively, active glazes alongside smoke and raku firing techniques.
Debbie’s Moon Jars are her interpretation of the iconic Korean Moon Jar. Debbie has developed the concept by smoke firing partially glazed jars, to re-semble a lunar surface. The shiny glaze is in contrast with the smoky tones of the smoke fired naked ceramic surface. Debbie has further developed this spherical form by exposing the interior of the sphere, tearing the clay, giving another surface to experiment with.
The Japanese influence on Debbie’s work is shown in her water pails; simple tall vessels with found wooden handles – driftwood, twigs and sticks collected on her walks.
Debbie still occasionally make teapots.......
Debbie exhibits regularly on local arts trails (Henley-on-Thames, Caversham and the Oxfordshire Arts weeks) and through the Oxfordshire Craft Guild shows. Recent galleries have include Tighnabruaich Gallery on the west coast of Scotland, the Yard Market, Godalming and the Craft Section of Antiques on High, Oxford and Sidmouth. Debbie is an active member of the Oxfordshire Craft Guild, West Forest Potters and West Oxon Arts.
Debbie work as a Ceramics tutor for Bracknell & Wokingham College and New Directions College, Reading. She also holds regular workshops at Ardington School of Craft, Henley School of Art and Art Jam Studio in Caversham.
CATEGORY Paintings
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VENUE 4
23 Highway Road,
Maidenhead
SL6 5AE
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John Percy is an abstract artist working in painting and collage using themes dealing with choice, decision and chance which stem from ideas around entropy and chaos theory.
He is currently also thinking about dance as a social activity and metaphor for life. It takes two to dance, a Binary Interaction requiring partnership, cooperation and teamwork. It has pace, flow, rhythm, colour, mood. In a dancehall two strangers can come together, neither knowing anything about the other, they choose, make a decision and take a chance. They work together using control, improvisation and spontaneity to achieve their goal.
John aims to make paintings that must stand in their own right and are not pictures of something. Works that are enigmatic, contemplative objects, carrying a certain poetic power and, at the same time, something that is a statement of personal ideals and an expression of his sense of the orderly disorder around us, the continual struggle between necessary social order and desirable personal anarchy.
CATEGORY Ceramics
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VENUE CANCELLED
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Jeanne studied as a mature student for her BA, MA & PGCHE. Her pots are thrown and turned on the wheel using a stoneware clay. A matt dolomite glaze is used as a base and then the blood red design is applied. The magic and mystery of the kiln gives forth the final creations of floral designs on each glaze fired piece.
CATEGORY Multimedia
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VENUE 5
84 Portland Road
SL6 6DZ
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Donna White is a full time working, teaching and exhibiting artist, involved in a wide range of art forms and materials, continually experimenting in the creative art process and environment, including portraiture, photo realism, abstract expressionism, sculptured forms, and most recently book illustrations using plasticine as a medium. Donna has had her work exhibited on the Royal Academy Summer Show, The Royal West of England Academy Autumn Show and the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, and has her work included in numerous private collections.
