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| Painting by Melanie Beer |
Kirstie Benbow is a recently self-employed artist who is a part-time Fine Art student at Plymouth College of Art. Since starting the course, her inspiration has changed from design-led, designer/maker crafts, to emotionally-fed conceptual art. Her range is wide – there are few visual art forms not now represented in her work: wire and shredded paper forms, sculpted female figures, horses, humorous three-dimensional birds….
Kirstie says “It has been a fascinating process, to move from printmaking and textiles to painting, a new discipline for me, focusing on the use of colour (mainly oils) in abstract garden themes. I hope to take painting forward into my professional practice, backed up by my history of printmaking, textiles and sculpture.”
Printmaking remains Kirstie’s ‘lead’ discipline. Again, she is inspired by gardens and hedgerows, using recycled materials, dried plant stems and seed heads, dead insects and other finds from her garden. The delicate monotype images she creates are strongly evocative of seasons and emotions past.
You can see Kirstie’s work at Heathfield Farm, Heathfield Road, Denbury, Newton Abbot TQ12 6ES.
Melanie Beer paints with acrylics using loose brush strokes to capture her local land and seascape in a painterly, impressionistic style. She has also recently begun to work with fused glass to create the movement, colour and flow of the ocean and has several commissions. Melanie says “The challenge for me is to capture nature’s tranquillity with light colour and texture. This bursary from Devon Open Studios has given me a great opportunity to reach a wider audience and get my career off to a head start.”
You can see Melanie’s work at Sunnybank, Cudhill Road, Brixham, TQ5 9JQ.
Running from 3rd to 18th September, Devon Open Studios is a great opportunity to meet and chat with artists and see the creative process first hand.
A free event guide is available by post or online showing all the artists and venues, colour coded by area, so you can plan a tour of the studios that interest you. And if you need a place to stay, take a look at our holiday cottages in Devon available during the event.
Printmaking remains Kirstie’s ‘lead’ discipline. Again, she is inspired by gardens and hedgerows, using recycled materials, dried plant stems and seed heads, dead insects and other finds from her garden. The delicate monotype images she creates are strongly evocative of seasons and emotions past.
You can see Kirstie’s work at Heathfield Farm, Heathfield Road, Denbury, Newton Abbot TQ12 6ES.
Melanie Beer paints with acrylics using loose brush strokes to capture her local land and seascape in a painterly, impressionistic style. She has also recently begun to work with fused glass to create the movement, colour and flow of the ocean and has several commissions. Melanie says “The challenge for me is to capture nature’s tranquillity with light colour and texture. This bursary from Devon Open Studios has given me a great opportunity to reach a wider audience and get my career off to a head start.”
You can see Melanie’s work at Sunnybank, Cudhill Road, Brixham, TQ5 9JQ.
Running from 3rd to 18th September, Devon Open Studios is a great opportunity to meet and chat with artists and see the creative process first hand.
A free event guide is available by post or online showing all the artists and venues, colour coded by area, so you can plan a tour of the studios that interest you. And if you need a place to stay, take a look at our holiday cottages in Devon available during the event.