The world around us is changing rapidly. Green spaces are being filled with houses, horizons are interrupted by giant wind turbines. The long ago deforested landscape that feeds us is shrinking, filled with impermeable concrete and plastic.
I grew up on an organic farm situated on the North Devon coast. The landscape I am familiar with is made up of rolling countryside, laced together by the tracery of Devon hedge banks, sporadically populated by sheep and cattle. To the East are the hills of Exmoor, to the South West, Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor and to the North, across the Bristol Channel, the Gower Peninsular and the Welsh Coast. These and the nearer hills are altered by the varying atmospheric conditions, sometimes seeming to disappear in a series of planes that fade into the distance.
My work is inspired by this scenery. I am aware of the fragility of the world I live in and endeavour to express this and the beauty I see around me in the hope that what we have will be appreciated and protected.
Using delicate colour change, I paint watercolour landscapes, striving to create an impression of contours, planes, horizons and distance. Simplicity emphasises distance and colour suggests atmosphere – the lines drawn are minimal and natural. They are usually titled with the date that inspired me, reflecting the variance in weathers, light and seasons. Their size (often smaller than A5) reflects what I see in the distant, miniaturised landscapes near the horizon.
In contrast, my pen and ink drawings are sharply detailed. I enjoy exploring the countryside in winter to find their subject matter, in particular, looking for bare, silhouetted trees. These are available as originals and Limited Edition Prints.
Emily was born in June 1981 in London where she lived until the early 1990s when her family moved to a small, organic farm, a mile from the North Devon coast.
After a Foundation Art and Design course at North Devon College, Emily attended Herefordshire College of Art and Design studying for a BA (Hons) in Applied Arts. There she explored her interests, influences and inspirations and experimented with different ways of expressing them, successfully graduating in 2003.
She moved back to North Devon, where she lives now and shares her studios with sculptor, Don Sibthorpe.
Emily lives in a cottage near the sea with her husband, three cats and a rescue cockatoo.
Past Exhibitions Include:
Barnsdale Court, California, U.S.A.
Broomhill Art Hotel, N. Devon
“A Celebration Of Art”, The Maynard School, Exeter, Devon
Open Show, Redearth Gallery, Bickleigh,N. Devon
“Coast – Land, Sea and Sky”, The Plough, Torrington, N. Devon
North Devon Open Art Show, Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon
h-Art Open Exhibition, City Art Gallery, Hereford
Kinnersley Castle, Herefordshire
Work in private collections in America, India, Thailand
and throughout the UK