Published 30/10/2014
Vanessa Bowman joins Bridgeman Studio with a number of career highs already behind her. Bowman trained as a textile designer at Winchester School of Art in the 1980s. This experience was instrumental in informing the oil paintings which are now the focus of Bowman's practice. Rich, colourful compositions breathe new life into the domestic still-life and draw frequent comparisons to the work of Mary Fedden . Bowman's landscapes are imbued with a particular wildness, unique to England's West Country.
Bowman lives and works in Dorset and exhibits with galleries including Panter & Hall, London and Josie Eastwood Fine Art. Bowman shares her inspiration, daily routine, and colour-palettes with us.
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| Hare in the snow | Cattistock with snowdrops |
A day in the life
What is your earliest memory of an artwork and who was it by?
My Dad is a painter, and I remember always seeing work on his easel. Back in the seventies he was painting in an abstract style similar to Rothko.
What is your favourite time of day to be in your studio?
I paint for as much of the day as I can, but I particularly like going back up to the studio in the evening to look again at what I've done- glass of wine in hand!
Talk us through a day in the life of Vanessa Bowman. What's your routine?
I take the dog for a walk and think about what I'm going to paint, people I have to contact etc. I often look around the garden for inspiration on my way up to the studio and then start painting around 10 o'clock. If I'm really in the zone I sometimes work right through without lunch until I have to down brushes and pick up the children from school.
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| Garden flowers in a stoneware jug (detail) | Dahlias in Jug (detail) |
Colour and Textiles
How would you sum up your practice in 5 words?
Naive, patterned, colour, space, shape
You have a background in textiles. Do you ever find yourself 'designing' a painting using textile-design techniques?
I often limit my palette to three or four colours, which is a discipline from my days as a textile designer. The simplicity of the layout and spacing has strong elements of design.
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| Red Poppies and Geometric Jug | Hellebores and Miranda's Cup |
Commissions
What has your most exciting commission been to date?
I don't often work to commission but in the past I have painted people's treasured pieces of ceramics and incorporated them into a still life, often alongside their favourite flowers.
How do you find working to commission? Do you find it pushes you work in new directions?
It's always a challenge to realise somebody else's vision in a painting. Despite that, it's a challenge that I like to take up.
Digital or Analogue?
Analogue – technology is not really my thing!
Drawing or Painting?
Painting, although I love drawing
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| Nasturtiums and Gooseberries | Red Poppies and Beach |
Which other artists, dead or alive would you choose to have dinner with?
Vanessa Bell, Mary Fedden, Grayson Perry, Winifred Nicholson, Matisse, Leonardo and Fra Angelico.
What brought you to Bridgeman for licensing, and what are your hopes for working as a Bridgeman Studio artist?
I was approached to be a Bridgeman Studio artist and I hope that Bridgeman's worldwide exposure and expertise will bring my work to a wider audience.
