Petra Schott is an abstract painter whose art revolves around states of mind, longings, and memories. After her studies in Fine Art at the Art Academy in Kassel in 1982, she dedicated herself to painting and has, since then, attracted the attention of national and international galleries, art critics, and collectors. 

Highly influenced by the works of Cy Twombly, Leiko Ikemura, Joan Mitchell, Marlène Dumas, Elisabeth Cummings, and Henri Matisse, the artist’s work is emotionally charged and in direct dialogue with the viewer who is invited into an open space for expression. 

Whilst in her works Schott delicately creates colourful representations of nostalgia, freedom and human relationships, she also explores nature and an intangible realm in which human figures with abstract facial expressions are loosely outlined. 

In her work, she weaves personal and collective memories into shapes, marks and lines found in her everyday life, creating an abstract language of painting that oscillates between lyrical abstraction and figurative references. The art curator Nell Cardozo wrote about her works: “There is a generous intimacy in Schott’s use of colour that coaxes out a subtle interplay between comfort and longing. Looking into them is like looking into a dream that belongs to some common consciousness.” 

Petra Schott regularly exhibits nationally and internationally. 

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Ellie Shipman is a visual artist and illustrator living and working in Bristol, based at Bricks Bristol. Ellie studied BA Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art (2008 - 11) focusing on social practice and deepened her research into climate resilience and participatory art through undertaking a MSc Sustainable Development in Practice at UWE (2015 - 16). Ellie spent a year living and working in Vietnam in 2019, undertaking residencies with Fashion Revolution Vietnam and Undecided Productions alongside self led projects. Ellie was awarded Arts Council England’s ‘Developing Your Creative Practice’ (DYCP) funding in 2023 to pursue new avenues in her creative practice.  Ellie regularly works on commissions for universities, researchers, museums and archives amongst others. Commissioners, funders and partners have included: Arts Council England; We the Curious; The Vietnamese Women’s Museum; Pump House Gallery; The University of Bristol; The University of Cambridge; Historic England; The Royal Shakespeare Company; Wellcome Trust. Ellie is a member of Spilt Milk Gallery and an Associate at Spike Island. 

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Klara Siska is a multidisciplinary visual artist. She studied Painting at SUPŠ in Uherské Hradiště and Performance Art at FaVU in Brno. Her collaborative project Brno Tiskne aims to create a space for experiments in graphic techniques and a place where we can lead others to their own creativity. She creates Jewelry from brass, semi-precious stones at SHINEme minerals.

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I was born in 1978 in Prague into a family of architect and illustrator. From the beginning my whole life has been orientated in the artistic direction. Actually during my early childhood, it was quite natural for me to create something and develop it by myself. I started to attend drawing and painting classes, traveling and visiting museums. I studied stage design and furniture design at the high school and used to help in a theater association with costumes and stage production. From this reasons I continued to study Architecture and Design at the University of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. I think that the architecture should combine art with the practicality and culturality of living. At the University I also tried in addition to architecture, how to work with porcelain, wood, how to paint a nude, or create sculptures from clay and other materials. However, my main field of study was architecture and interior design which I have done for a living 15 years after my studies and also during the studies.I have experience with building houses, reconstructions and interior design, artworks and decorations - both private and public. In my opinion, house and interior is one organism which should make us feel good and relaxed. In year 2009 I born my first child , in 2014 second .

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Isadora Stowe is a multi-media American visual artist whose artwork focuses on the narrative of environment translated and coded into complex psychological landscapes. Her strong interest is in visual narratives, created out of symbolic code, or personal syntax, that explore memory as it relates to the construction, negotiation and interpretation of the sense of self.

Stowe grew up in the southwest border region, living and working in New Mexico, Texas and Mexico. She credits these experiences with a heightened awareness of geographical and political boundaries; and a fascination with the exploration of identity of self in her work.

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I like to observe emotions in people's expressions and then capture them in my work. Pencil, ink, watercolor, acrylic on larger canvas, digitally. I was born and raised in the Czech Republic. As a kid, I kept laughing and demanded something I could draw with. I have that inner desire. That's why I studied illustration and graphic design. And to learn English, I moved to England in 2015. I moved to work in New Zealand and fell in love with the beautiful nature. I love exploring new countries, so I've traveled to India, Indonesia and Bali (still my favorite). After returning home, I worked for freelance clients and my portfolio. I found my style and continue my education through live drawing lessons, where I improve my technique and perspective. In addition to constantly drawing, I enjoy long walks in nature, cooking, reading, meeting new people, listening to podcasts about creativity and improving life, and watching travel videos.

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Valentine is a Belgian and American abstract painter, international educator, community director, podcast host, author, and mother of two. After the birth of her first child in a Czech village surrounded by people who spoke a different language, she felt isolated. Supported by the Artist Residency In Motherhood Program, she developed a process of artmaking that liberates expressive energy and establishes connection. Graduate studies in philosophy and postgraduate studies in teaching, literacy, and culture in San Diego provided the foundation for her work. Passionate about education and connecting people with opportunities, Valentine founded the Art Connect Women’s Collective and the Art Connect Society. Inspired by her community work, she published Mama Meditations: The Imperfect Artist Mother Journey, Mindful Mantras, and The Bright Side: Affirmations For Overcoming as reflections on postpartum experience. She founded the Bella Valentina Artist Residency Program in the Czech Republic. Valentine has exhibited her abstract paintings and poetry in galleries in Europe, with the Jewish Museum Prague, BHA Gallery, and curated solo, group exhibits. She’s been published in international art magazines. In 2022, she published Painting Our World, US: An Artist Diary, and was longlisted for the Women United Art Prize. She hosts the Art Sisters Podcast and is a member of Spilt Milk Gallery, The Art Queens Society, Create Magazine, Artist-Mother Network, ARIM, Victory Art Gallery.

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Born in 1972 in Liberec, Czech Republic. She loved to paint and draw since early childhood, and studied at a Glass-making Art School in Železný Brod. “Painting is my nourishment and passion; it supplies me with energy and guides my meditations. At times, it is also my inner conflict, sending me out into the unknown. Painting is purely an intuitive way of expressing myself, my energy, and my deepest thoughts and emotions. It is never planned or restricted, it is freedom!”

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Based in Suffolk in the UK, Karen is an award-winning figure and portrait artist whose oil paintings are a commentary on the weight of expectations. Focusing on the physical body and the scrutiny to which it is commonly subjected, Karen’s paintings explore what society expects of a woman, the ways in which a woman’s shape is often considered to define her, and the impact that this has on her life and sense of self.    An examination of the inherent bias against, and at times discrimination of, fat bodies, her work challenges the traditionally narrow view of who can be considered beautiful, as she sensitively presents her subjects in a way that both celebrates and normalises.  Born in London in 1978, Karen attended Hampstead Fine Arts College before going on to a career in the City. Since returning to art in 2020 she has been awarded the President’s Prize by the Institute of East Anglian Artists, the Professional Artist Award by the Visual Artists Association and the Art Fluent Evolution Grant. She was a finalist in the Theo Paphitis Art Prize, the Holly Bush Emerging Woman Painter Prize and the Women United Art Prize, as well as being shortlisted for the New Emergence Art Prize.  Karen exhibited at The Other Art Fair London in 2023 and 2022, where in 2022 she was selected as the Fair Director’s Pick.  Last year she was invited to participate in one of Art on a Postcard’s celebrated auctions, and more recently Karen was invited by fashion and fine art photographers Inez and Vinoodh to join Double Dutch.  An online charity gifting platform, her work features alongside the likes of Cindy Sherman, Gary Hume, Es Devlin and Lady Gaga.

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