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.