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EVERYTHING AROUND US CAPTURED ON CANVAS |
Vanessa's
primary source of inspiration for her work is the countryside
of rural Herefordshire, where rich meadows touch the Wye River
and the Welsh mountains brood beneath dramatic, heavenly skies.
Her landscape
paintings capture the broad and majestic panoramas of this
naturally beautiful area, incorporating universal themes of light
and the changing atmosphere, exploring the emotive colour of the
mountain ranges. Yet these are not landscapes which look backward
nostalgically to a rural idyll. They reveal the significance of
the countryside to us in the here and now. The soaring skies,
rolling hills and grand mountains are captured in form and colour,
structured and harmonious, as an embodiment of strength, and peace.
The paintings explore the impact of these stunning panoramas to
each of us as an integral and vital part of our own being, part
of our world view. They make a difference to the lives of those
who see them and experience them.
Vanessa has always been attracted to
the balance and unity found in the classical form of the Italian
Renaissance paintings, which informs her work with an underlying
classical technique and idea. At the same time her artistic vision
is contemporary and modern; she is equally inspired by a work
of Hodgkin, or Constable, - a Leonardo or Van Gogh drawing. Her
work emphasises essential qualities of life: energy, vitality,
power and grace. She consistently examines the relationship between
the individual and the wider world, between microcosm and macrocosm.
She creates an intimate and vibrant relationship between her subject
and her audience bringing them together in a shared experience.
Portraits are drawn, and also created
in bronze. Vanessa's fine pencil
portraits of celebrated conductor and violinist Yeheudi Menuhin
and conductor Charles Groves reveal insights of the musical genius
of these men. Other works in Vanessa's collection include the
bronze portrait of the actress Janet Suzman and ballerina
Ghislaine Thesmar alongside inspiring portraits in bronze
of young children.
Her inspirational oil paintings, her
beautifully observed fine line drawings, and her perceptive portraits
in bronze carve an original and unique place for Vanessa's work
in the world of contemporary art.
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