Fine Art Pieces

We have recently started acquiring some pieces of art. This all started when a friend of ours gave us a Gao painting (he was voted the best new artist in Austrailia, 1992). Below, is a list of some of the pieces we now have.

Some additional art related links.

Charles Penny - 'Waterfront IV'

Born in Germany in 1952 and educated in Switzerland, Charles Penny started his career early in life. He has had exhibitions in London at the A M Chadwick Gallery, Amalgam Gallery and Harrods and has had many exhibitions in Japan. He spends much of his time in the Mediterranean where he finds his subject matter. He is generally accepted to be one of the most accomplished watercolorists alive today. His ability to paint light and shade and convey the heat and atmosphere of a setting has earned him a place in the annals of original printmaking of the latter half of the twentieth century.

Hazel Soan - 'Lugano' and 'Aqua Vennezel I'

Hazel Soan was born in 1954. After a formal art training, she decided to set up her studio wherever she would live. Since 1977 she has had over twenty exhibitions in ten countries. She has given lectures on her art, written articles about it in many journals and given talks on the BBC. Part of the time she lives on her own yacht which she keeps in the Mediterranean, and she spends a month a year on safari in southern Africa where she keeps her Landrover so that she can paint wildlife in situ. Her art shows her exuberance. "I love the contrasts of light and shade. The beauty of painting is always to me that moment when I get carried away and paint without dictating the terms." Her works are in the collections of H.R.H. Prince of Wales, Trowbridge Museum and ICI.

Roy Tonkin - 'Equis' and 'Solstice I'

Roy Tonkin, born in 1959, began his fascination with shapes, myths and figures at the age of twelve after reading Tolkien. At West Surrey College of Art and at the Bath Academy where he studied pottery and printmaking, he developed his interest in carborundum etchings which enabled him to build up a three dimensional surface on the plate, applying layers of paste and iron filings as if working with clay. He set up studio in London in the early eighties and produces his ceramic works and carborundum plates printing them himself. He finds inspiration in medieval legends - in the crafts, woodwork, pottery, masonry and tapestries of that era. His images concern a world of allegory and fabels.

Lee White - 'Figurative'

Born in Miami in 1948, he received the Mayor's trophy for artists sponsored by the Miami Herald. His journey then carried him to California where he began formal studies at the California College of Commercial Design, the City College of Los Angeles, The Santa Monica Art League, The University of Southern California, advancing to a fine art degree at the California Institute of Arts. His prolific work, original figuratives, abstract expressionism, still lifes and collage are in private and corporate collections. Today his works are widely exhibited in cities in the United States, Europe and through the world. "...Figurative is not a word...it is an emotion-Figuratives mirror the soul, the realism, of life's rhythm...of passioned pleasures...of deviled dreams..."

David Dodsworth - 'Axiom'

Born in 1952, David Dodsworth gained a BA in Fine Art before setting up his own studio to be able to experiment with imagery and methods of printmaking. Working with thick paints, gold leafs, and metal that he cuts with a jigsaw, he created a totally individual style which became world renown by 1985. He has won prizes in Japan, Germany and England and has been accepted into the Royal Society of Painter Etchers. Many pieces by Dodsworth have been commissioned by some of the world's largest corporations for their company headquarters, and his works can be found in most leading original print galleries throughtout the USA.

Julian Askins - 'Verandah'

Julian Askins has enjoyed over 40 exhibitions in the last ten years. Innovative and exuberant, his work as a painter and printmaker captures the heat and light of the Mediterranean and the Caribbean where he stays painting the scenery about him. The richness of color conveys the intimate atmosphere of the places he visits. The heat and light is conveyed by his complementary use of dark inks.

Susan Jameson - 'Lightening & Storm II'

Born in 1943. The ideas concerning the relationship of man to the nature surrounding us are central to the work of Susan Jameson. She portrays the strength of nature. Its awesome but wondrous presence can be seen in her moonlit seashores, her majestic mountains, her windswept skies. Working in mezzotint, a medium mastered by only a handful of living artists today, she has been acclaimed by museums and galleries alike and has been given many exhibitions in the USA, Europe and Japan over the last twenty years.

William Crighton - 'French Garden I'

Studied at Jordanstone College and St Martins School of Art. One of the most interesting post impressionist painters of recent years, his treatment of light and shade brought him to the notice of galleries in Europe. The dappled effect of the sunlight, the ease of the reeling figures, the glistening of the surfaces of water are captured with broad sketch like strokes of his brush. The enchantment of casual groupings, figures in light dresses, tables bathed in sunlight are his preferred subjects. For him art is a craft to be practised joyfully. "For my part, I am content to demand just one thing for a masterpiece - Enjoyment." (Renoir 1908)