Joan Willingham

I always knew one day I would be an artist and as a child all I ever wanted was paint boxes and painting books but it wasn’t until I retired that I finally had the time to follow my dream!  After several years learning the foundations of art and attending many workshops and courses I progressed to a three year course with the OCA, the Open College of Art, when I was lucky to have one-to-one tuition with a first class tutor.

Over the years I have attempted many different subjects and genres and have developed a distinctive style of modern semi-abstract still life painting for which I have become widely recognised.  I was initially influenced by Mary Feddon and her incorporation of landscapes with her still lifes and Matisse and Bonnard with their wonderful use of colour.  I love to collect together a few objects from around my home and conjure up a composition using simple shapes and a limited palette.
However in the last few years my work has taken a new direction and I am now interested in a more abstract approach to my work.  I have returned to the use of acrylics which, combined with a mixture of mediums, has given me more freedom to explore different approaches to abstraction.  My work is non-objective, in that I do not start with a subject in mind but by the use of mark making, choice of materials and colour;  the painting develops and takes on its own identity.
I have exhibited in London at the Mall Galleries and widely in Hampshire and have won several prestigious awards for my work.
Skills

Posted on

September 25, 2019

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