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Lee Campbell

My work is a fusion of science and mysticism.

I am London-based artist working mainly in oils and directly influenced by my environment; from the Pacific light of my childhood in New Zealand to my current location on Eel Pie Island. The island is surrounded by trees and the daily tidal fluctuations energise this historic location, but it is a poem by Robert Graves about a mystical forest which inspired the 'Forest Series'.

Throughout my career I have placed myself in a series of unusual locations in order to stimulate my imagination, these have included a Space Research Lab. a Victorian church in London, an ancient Dominican Priory in Kent, empty shops, a canal house on a Thames-side dock yard and most recently the National Physical Laboratory in London, where I responded to the images scientific research by using photography and mixed media.

Invited artist Florence Bienalle 2009

The piano (pictured) was painted with roses in the form of a union jack to celebrate summer in London as part of a public art project July 2009 - currently situated in the Plaza Arcade, Oxford St. London.

My painting is a direct response to the world around me. I work in oils which I love for their painterly qualities. I am interested in the composition of the image in relation to the edges of the support; a strong underlying two-dimensional design, and a fascination with light, colour and mood.

I paint a variety of subject matter always from the subject: the figure, landscape, and still life. Some larger work is painted in my studio at home from drawings and paintings. I work in sketchbooks where ever I go and put a great deal of emphasis on drawing believing that it underpins all good painting. Life Drawing is a regular part of my practice.

I have access to an artist's studio on the Suffolk coast where the ever changing sea and sky dominates. It’s a wonderful vantage point for observing people walking or sitting on the beach and the sea wall, either in conversation or quiet reflection.

The last five summers were spent in Italy painting people and the landscape, and studying the art and architecture of that beautiful country. Previous to that I have travelled widely throughout France and Spain both painting and studying Western Art.

I am inspired by everything around me, but especially the Nature Reserve where I live and the fields that surround the house. Living and working in and around The Bridgwater Bay National Nature Reserve, I have become increasingly concerned about the need for people to be aware of the incredibly valuable and diverse landscape that they live in. I hope I can help people to appreciate this with my art.

I paint unique, bizarre sensually vibrant urban landscapes or cityscapes usually of Manchester in the North of England thereby following in the tradition of Valette, L.S. Lowry and others. My paintings often begin with an almost Lowryesque naivism but then wander into more bizarre directions eclectically pooling influences as diverse as Soutine, Munch, Derain, cartoons and lately even elements of abstract expressionism wherein I try to marshall its useful emotional and sensual qualities in an otherwise figurative landscape. My paintings have been used promotionally by the University of Lancaster, the University of Manchester, in pop videos, in magazines, and made into postcards by the Manchester Tourist Office. They are exhibited regularly in the Northwest of England, and are in private collections around the world.

Rona uses a mostly monochromatic palate of oil on canvas to paint images of people. She is interested in the inner psyche and in capturing a particular mood. She paints what is close to her and hopes to gain a greater understanding in doing so. Her themes focus primarily on relationships and past works have included the role of women in Japanese society, the family, pregnancy, motherhood and a series based on the 1950s. She is currently working on a news series about age and beauty. Originally from Toronto, Rona now lives in Oxford with her family. Her formal training took place at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Canada. She has had solo shows in Toronto, Ottawa, Tokyo, London and Oxford.

Jane Evans studied Chinese Brush Painting at the Chinese Artists’ Guild and the Philippine Chinese Art Center in the Philippines, studying with Chen Bingsun, Hau Chiok and Sy Chiu Hua. After returning to Britain, Jane continued to develop her painting, exploring the versatility of Chinese techniques and materials by using them in adventurous ways. Drawing on Eastern and Western ideas about light, space and perspective, she has evolved a highly original style, creating colourful abstracted paintings that combine both aesthetic traditions.

Jane has held successful one-woman exhibitions and taken part in group shows. She undertakes commissions and runs courses and workshops in Britain and abroad. She is Honorary Co-president of the Chinese Brush Painters Society.