Artist of the week - Melanie Barrett

Our Artist of the week is Melanie Barrett. After graduating with a degree in Fine Art from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in 2003, Melanie went on to obtain a Masters in Painting from Wimbledon School of Art in 2004. Since then she has been continuing to paint and draw, focusing on portraiture, and in particular the narrative within painting. I particularly like this landscape painting of Melanie's....especially with all the recent snow, ice and cold weather.....this is a timely reminder of the promise of Spring to come. I love the light streaming through the trees.

Melanie has taught Art in schools in Mexico and Uganda, and to date has exhibited in various venues in Newcastle, Hackney, Kings Cross, the Discerning Eye Exhibition 2003, London Art Fair 2005, and in Glasgow for the regional finals of Channel Five's Big Art Competition.

To see more of Melanie's work on Affordable British Art, click HERE

Artist of the Week - Angela Arnold

Our Artist of the week is Angela Arnold. Angela spent most of her youth on the Continent: born in Germany, she has also lived in France, Spain, Holland, Belgium...finally settling in Scotland in 1976. Angela says:
"I have been painting in South Aberdeenshire since 2001, inspired by the local land- and seascape: the view of big skies and changeable seas from the cliffs of coastal Kinneff, where I live, or the deep red earth of the Mearns."

The painting shown is an atmospheric depiction of winter at its most picturesque, with snow sculpted into powerful drifts and my little cottage just visible."
A very apt depiction of the snowy weather at the moment


Angela started out as a writer, with two books published (on psychological astrology, which she also practises), as well as occasional poetry. For thirteen years she ran a smallholding in Aberdeenshire, and then worked for several years as a hands-on garden designer. She came to painting a bit later in life, and is self-taught - "....as much by design as default: I just love experimenting and discovering my own techniques. Painting to me is a challenge, a journey, and each work seems to proceed along its own path, often taking me by surprise.
In my paintings I try to capture both stillness and motion (often linked with the emotion evoked) – and maybe these are not so much opposites as two sides of the same coin, seeking the core of the subject. I also produce vibrant abstracts and most recently I have been experimenting with stark black and white, rather minimalist, painting.

A lot of my work is done in acrylic on board, rather than on canvas, calling for a different kind of technique. I have developed a method of mounting board on an integral frame and the finished product looks like a box canvas, with painted sides, ready to hang - or to frame, if you wish."

To see more of Angela's work on Affordable British Art, click HERE

Artist of the week - Jeannie Zelos

Jeannie was born and still lives in North Norfolk. She says " ...with beautiful scenery full of traditional woodlands, vast beaches and huge skies. Why move?!
I've been painting for a number of years now and extending my repertoire of materials as time progresses and I delve further into the world of art.I describe my style as naive, and myself as a Colourist. My work has very vibrant colour ranges, often not what you would expect but it works!
Art can be a solitary pursuit and since 2006 I've been running a free arts forum for artists and people interested in art, just type my name and forum into google and you'll find it. I've learned so much from other artists there, and hopefully we have all benefited from contact with others.
I paint in a variety of mediums from watercolours through to encaustic, a method used over 2,000 years ago. For me art is a journey and by not restricting myself to one media I have the freedom to take my art to a range of possibilities. Over the last few years I have extended my experience via personal study and professional tuition and now use watercolours, soft pastels, oil pastels, acrylics, oils, and latest is the encaustic (beeswax) paints. I'm currently using the encaustics most of the while, seeking to reach the very essence of the subject through pure abstraction, and find that the beeswax - maybe because its such an organic material- works really well for this. "

To see more of Jeannie's work on Affordable British Art, click HERE

Artist of the Week - Peter Williams

Our Artist of the week is Peter Williams. Peter is a self taught UK artist, working out of his studio on the Suffolk coast where he lives with his long term partner Jenny and large German Shepherd dog.

Of his work, Peter says:
"I use many different media including pastel, coloured or graphite pencil and gouache but I am particularly well known for watercolour work. Blending diffused colour with confident composition and intricate detail, I am able to achieve a unique vibrancy unequalled by many other watercolourists.

Having always had immense interest in the great outdoors, animals, wildlife and particularly horses, I have most recently become best known for my haunting, ephemeral Native American portraits.
I don’t try to be historically accurate, but attempt to portray palpable and arresting emotions, suspending reality to present the viewer with the wild, unchecked passions and stoic serenity of Native America.

Born in 1952 I had a varied working life which included the regular British Army, college tutor, computer analyst and lorry driver. Throughout all of these times I always found time to create art of some kind in my spare time. In 2002 I took the life changing step of becoming a full time artist. I was the feature artist for Hertfordshire Life magazine before moving to the East coast of Suffolk in 2005. I expected to make my living here from local landscapes and coastal scenes. However I soon realized I would be better off finding a more niche area of the art market and decided to exploit my passion for the old West and Native America. I haven’t looked back since. I have had quite a lot of success selling prints and originals in the USA but have also been pleasantly surprised to find many collectors here in the UK. Of course I still create all other genre when the mood takes me, particularly wildlife and horses, and work to commission whenever requested. "

See more of Peter's work on Affordable British Art by clicking HERE

Artist of the Week - Cherie Sullivan

Cherie Sullivan is our artist of the week this week.

A contemporary Scottish artist, her bold, distinctive, vibrant works are influenced by colour and nature. Preferring to work from photographs, rather than from life, Cherie can often be found photographing flowers and fruit. Some of these photos then, in turn, inspire her paintings. Working with acrylics, oils or in mixed media on box canvas, Cherie’s paintings are a bright and vivid representation of the natural world around us.

Cherie exhibits across Scotland, and has many works in private collections around the world. NHS Fife recently purchased 4 of Cherie’s paintings to be displayed in the Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline.

“I enjoy taking macro shots of flower centres…these interesting photographs are often semi abstract by nature. I like to concentrate on their stamens, cropping the photos to get exactly the image I want. Once cropped, these images then form the basis for my paintings.
For my fruity paintings I use the same process, but tend to concentrate on the negative spaces between the fruits.”

Click HERE to see more of Cherie's work