Wendy Skinner Smith OAS – portfolio
Contact the artist
https://www.wendyskinnersmith.co.uk/
07752 033370
wendy@wendyskinnersmith.co.uk
Artist information
I have lived and worked in Oxford since 1971, where I was fortunate to teach art until I retired as Deputy Head of The Cherwell School in 2,000. Since then, I have focused on my artistic practice, illustrated travel books and engaged in community projects, including gardening, allotments and designing and painting he scenery for our local WOCA pantomines. My art has featured in numerous exhibitions and private collections, and I am so looking forward to participating in Artweeks again.
Exhibition information
I am a painter based in Oxford, and am probably now best known here for my oil paintings that explore themes of reflections and architectural spaces. I paint very detailed work… slowly…and most of my oil paintings are sold as soon as they are complete. This exhibition contains prints but there are oil paintings from the 70s, 80s, 2000, and now, throughout the house. I think they show how my work and interests have developed. Blue is a dominant colour in both my house and work! I love working at home in my studio on the first floor. I will be painting in there as much as possible and I am told the teacher is me is never very far away! I am happy to talk about how I develop work and the techniques I use. I have come to the conclusion that I am love problem solving in painting, and gardening and probably previously in teaching! The exhibitions contains a few works from the past 50 years. They are pieces I loved and have kept kept and they are evidence of a fortunate, productive and fulfilling life. My Oxford work sometimes features iconic locations in Oxford but you always get a mixture of time and place and very occasionally people. There are prints available of this body of work and a very few oils in progress. You will find work from the 70s, in drawings of Cornwall and an oil of Ullswater Hotel. As a full time teacher I had little time to paint but bi-annual visits to Florence with students doing art and art history were renowned for looking, learning AND drawing extensively. The Florence Trip painting incudes images from San Marco, San Lorenzo and students. One of my best friends lived in New York until recently and I love this blue city. Most of the oils of New York sold long ago but I hung onto 3 of which one is for sale.. with a few prints of others. Throughout I employ techniques that emphasize the interplay of light and perspective, and often subtle textures to create images that capture different times in urban and natural landscapes. None are visible thus in real life despite my my paintings using a lot of realism.