Artist of the Week - Melanie Barrett

This week we have Melanie Barrett as our Artist of the Week.
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. She 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.

Melanie says: "I am fascinated by the drama that can be created by the interplay of light and dark within a composition, and am preoccupied with recreating the beauty that can be captured in fleeting moments of every day life.
My work is heavily influenced by photography and I take inspiration from the work of Sickert, Degas and more recently, Tim Gardner."

Melanie now lives in County Durham with her husband Lewis, daughter Lily-Ann, and baby Daniel.

All paintings have Royal Mail Special Delivery included in the marked price.

Commissions available at a range of prices, painted from life or photographs- please contact the Artist direct for further details or a quote.

Click HERE to see more of Melanie's work on Affordable British Art

Artist of the Week - Tina Ashton

This week our Artist of the Week is Tina Ashton. At the age of 39 Tina gave up her then career in administration, to returned to full time education in Art and Design. Creating art and particularly painting again was a “very personal and emotional awakening” she recollects, and indeed she hopes it is just the beginning of a long creative journey.
In 2003 Tina was proud to win the prestigious Malcolm Kendal Award in recognition of her talented contribution towards a motivated and artistic awareness. In the years to follow Tina went on to exhibit her work regularly across the UK, amongst them several solo exhibitions and a group exhibition at one of London’s Cork Street Galleries.

During the past 10 years much of Tina’s collection of work has been dominated by her modern portraiture in Acrylic. These bold, colourful portraits of today’s woman have proved very successful for her, although they are constantly evolving and are just a small part of a much wider body of work these days.

More recently, from her studio on the edge of the Buckinghamshire countryside, Tina has been painting on the theme of Love and Romance and her collection of semi-abstract paintings inspired by Lovers has been selling to private and corporate collectors across the world. Tina has a love of all things romantic and particularly old black and white movies which has fed and inspired this series of work, although the strong colours and loose fluidity of these new works are a much more modern statement. “I believe one of the greatest challenges for an artist is to display on canvas the special and intimate moments that lovers share and I hope that I go some way towards achieving that” Says Tina.

I particularly love the one shown above....entitled "Pink Meets Blue".....at first glance it looks like an imaginative, organic abstract work, yet on closer inspection, the true nature and passion of the work is discovered.

Click HERE to see more of Tina's work on Affordable Bitish Art.

Artist of the Week - Angela Arnold

Angela Arnold is this weeks Artist of the week. Angela is a full time professional Artist working from her studio at home in rural Scotland. I particularly like this view of St. Andrews in Scotland.

Angela says:

"I started out as a writer, with two books published (on psychological astrology, which I also practise), as well as occasional poetry. For thirteen years I ran a smallholding in Aberdeenshire, and then worked for several years as a hands-on garden designer. So I came to painting a bit later in life, and I'm 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.
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.
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 bl/wh, 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

This week Jeannie Zelos is our Artist of the Week. I have chosen this image of Jeannies as it is full of the promise of Summer - when the Sunflowers are growing rapidly and beaming out their golden colours to warm the soul.
Jeannie says :
"I was born and still live in North Norfolk; 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.
My work is becoming more sought after with sales both home and abroad. It can be seen on several websites and by appointment at my studio. Please remember it's a working studio ( read: untidy!) - not a gallery and it would be helpful if you could indicate both the subject matter or medium and price range you are interested in, then I can arrange to have these ready for viewing. Please email me if you wish for an appointment."

Click HERE to see more of Jeannie's work on Affordable British Art