Hayley Noakes – portfolio
Contact the artist
https://www.figtreestudio.co.uk/
figtreestudioart@gmail.com
Exhibition information
My work centres on wildlife and wild spaces, with animals forming the quiet heart of each piece. I’m drawn to moments of stillness — the sense of watching, waiting, and observing animal behaviour within a given landscape. I aim to create a feeling of wildness that feels attentive, allowing space and pause to play an important role.
There is a folkloric quality to my work. The animals I depict are not anatomically perfect, but symbolic and intuitive, shaped as much by mood and meaning as by observation. They sit within layered environments that suggest narrative, season, and a sense of lived landscape, rather than literal place.
I work primarily with collage, combining painted papers with materials such as pastel, pencil, and ink. I paint my own papers, building texture and surface slowly so that each piece develops through layering, adjustment, and response. I’m particularly drawn to weathered and timeworn materials, often incorporating ephemera to introduce a sense of age, fragility, and history.
Seasonal change is an important influence in my work, especially the autumn and winter landscape. Autumn’s colour, falling leaves, and richness of tone sit alongside the quieter structure of winter — bare trees, muted palettes, and moments of stillness that allow the presence of wildlife to come forward without distraction.
My original artworks are held in private collections across the UK and abroad. Alongside original works, I also produce fine prints of selected pieces.
Artist information
I’m Hayley, an artist based in Buckinghamshire, where I live with my husband, our son, and two cats. Much of my work is rooted in the landscape around me — particularly the garden and countryside close to home, where birds and other wildlife are a constant presence.
My practice has also been shaped by time spent living in Italy and by visits to Canada to see family. These experiences have deepened my awareness of how different landscapes feel, and how wildlife inhabits them. I’m interested in moments of quiet observation — allowing the animal to remain at the centre of the work, held within a sense of stillness and space.
I’m drawn to the quiet details of the natural world: the surface of a pebble, the pattern of moss, the structure of feathers. I have a strong affection for things that are weathered, faded, or timeworn, and I often incorporate ephemera into my work as a way of suggesting history, fragility, and layers of lived experience.
Working primarily as a collage artist, I combine painted papers with materials such as pastel, pencil, and ink to create layered compositions rich in texture and detail. I paint my own papers, allowing the process to remain intuitive and tactile, and enabling each piece to develop slowly through layering and revision.
My work often has a quiet, folkloric quality, drawing on observations of wildlife, wild spaces, and the changing seasons. Conservation and care for the natural environment are important to me, and these values sit gently beneath the surface of the artwork. The winter countryside is a recurring source of inspiration — I’m particularly drawn to its stillness, skeletal trees, and the sense of pause it brings.
I exhibit my work in various galleries and temporary exhibitions, and take part in selected art fairs. Original artworks and prints are available through my website. My artwork is also published by Green Pebble.
Art in Cropredy
