Wendy Skinner Smith OAS – Oxfordshire Artweeks

348 Wendy Skinner Smith OAS

Region: Oxford West – City

Artform: Painting

The exhibition & studio are in my home and includes drawings, illustrations, limited edition prints, & cards spanning the 50+ yrs that I have lived & worked in Oxford. 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 Kings Birthday Honours list for my voluntary work.
I am fascinated by reflections & reality. An identifiable image is usually distorted through reflection & modified perspective. The paintings are in oil on board and the compositions are highly structured and built up using textured glazes, often worked into, alongside strong areas of modulated colour.
I am often engaged by the ambiguity of reflections within an order of grids and the effects of light & glass.
My Oxford work has proved to be a refreshing view of this famous city. The colleges, bars & shops are juxtaposed in new combinations, always derived from observation but inconsistent with time & viewpoint. Recent large paintings have focussed on the Natural History Museum. It has captivated me, my children & grandchildren. In 2024 I finally completed a family portrait set among display cases, dinosaurs & the magnificent celebration of life, art & architecture. In 2025 I found smaller reflection still life work to be a welcome change.
My paintings are held in many private collections and I have made some of them into 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 enjoy talking to visitors about my work.