Island Life Magazine Ltd December 2010/January 2011 | Page 81

advertisement Island Life - December 2010 Island Fine Arts Claire Wiltsher Claire Wiltsher was born in Wales. She studied at Lancashire University as a mature student (1986-89), training as a lecturer of Art. While teaching in Durham she completed her MA at Northumbria University in Fine Art. After a period of travelling, Claire has settled on the south coast, setting up her studio in the New Forest. She is a keen walker and spends much of her time drawing and recording the landscape around her and then adds her personal response back in the studio. She paints in an expressive untraditional manner, but her work is based on a strong observation of nature. The majority of her canvases are square, which she feels is important in creating a balance and harmony in her paintings. The work has ambiguous elements, however the work shows strong structural compositions. She feels that "total recognition inhibits the imagination." Painting in oil and mixed media, many of her works combine layers of paint with fragments of collage. She scratches through sections of the painting to allow colours from underneath to emerge. "I want to create evocative paintings of land and sea that show a sense of place, different weather conditions are key elements." Claire uses brushes and different size palette knives to build up layers and create depth. She has shown with many well-known galleries throughout the UK and her work makes up part of many private collections. Claire Wiltsher Structural layers mixed media, 35.5x35.5 inches Jo Bemis Jo Bemis Wave Spindrift Oil, 19.5x39.5 Jo was born on the Isle of Wight in 1969 and studied at Portsmouth College of Art and Design and Leeds Metropolitan University. She travelled widely during the 1990’s being commissioned to produce work for a number of organizations. This culminated in television and radio exposure. A move to the United States in 1996 allowed her to continue her development and exhibit with galleries in Michigan. As a landscape and seascape painter, Jo’s paintings capture the energy of nature. The inspiration of Whistler, and Constable’s oil sketches are evident in her interpretation of the coastline around the UK. Working in oil she paints at a brisk pace with a palette knife, refining the detail with a fine brush. Since returning to the Island in 2000, Jo has built a following for her work and now has galleries representing her in both Cornwall and London. Her work hangs in many private collections worldwide. 53 High Street Bembridge Isle of Wight PO35 5SE email: [email protected] - www.islandfinearts.com Tel: 01983 875133 Visit our new website - www.visitislandlife.com 81