Wendy Skinner Smith OAS – portfolio

Contact the artist

https://www.wendyskinnersmith.co.uk
07752 033370
wendy@wendyskinnersmith.co.uk

Exhibition information

I have always been intrigued by reflections & reality. My favoured medium is oil paint on board. As I often use textured glazes I need a firm surface . My early work, whether still life, architecture, or landscape, often flattened shapes and contained them within a firm linear framework and a restricted palette. Nowadays my compositions are more  perspectival and highly structured.  Whilst they often appear realistic, particularly in prints where the size is reduced, the images are drawn from lots of observation and photos taken at different times of day. Often ‘reflections’ are composites of the glass surface, the image itself and the reflection juxtaposed. I meld different images and times of day.  What you see is never visible at one time. I often use strong areas of modulated colour.

For most of my working life as a teacher I only had time to draw and paint, usually in pencil, crayon and watercolour, when on holiday. When I retired from teaching I went to New York, initially to see a list of art galleries and museums, but the city of glass and blue verticality took my breath away! The New York works took me 5 years!

I am not a fast painter… indeed I am now VERY slow. The New York work led me to looking at Oxford in a different way, and ‘reflection’ meant I could revel in colleges, bars, shops, windows and doors, all juxtaposed in compositions. They are always derived from observation but inconsistent with one time, light or viewpoint. Much like my experience of living in Oxford.

Artist information

I have spent my working life in Oxford and still have a few pieces from my early days. I was a teacher of Art/Art History in local schools for 30 years and retired as Deputy Head of The Cherwell School in 1999. Since then, I have painted, illustrated travel books, & worked voluntarily for Oxford allotments. In 2025 I received a BEM in the King’s Birthday Honours list for my voluntary work.

My paintings are held in many private collections and I some are available as Limited Editions prints. I have exhibited at The University of Warwick, Oxford University’s Said Business School & in London at various Art Fairs including Battersea, Alexandra Palace, Chelsea, & the inaugural Oxford International Art Fair. I have exhibited with Oxford Art Society & Artweeks since 2003 and look forward to seeing you in May 2026.