These Websites connect you straight to the work of particular artists and sculptors
JONATHAN KENWORTHY, Sculptor: www.jonathankenworthy.com
Jonathan's work is inspired by movement. From the age of four he has been modelling and today, some 67 years later, he is still modelling. To say his work is breathtaking does not do it justice. Whether it is a sketch of an encounter between a secretary bird and a snake, a running ostrich, or a bronze of a charging rhinocerous, or maybe a maquette of a lioness greeting her mate, I feel as if these images and sculptures were all moving until I looked at them and then they have frozen, waiting until I look in another direction, then they will all continue what they were doing. Graceful Masai nomads stride across his studio and Afghan Kuchi riders thunder off into the distance.
If you are in Grosvenor Gardens, SW1 and wonder who created the wonderful sculpture of the lioness chasing the antelope, it was Jonathan.
NIKKI TAYLOR, Sculptress : www.nikkitaylorsculpture.co.uk
Nikki is an amazing sculptress who works in wire mesh. She is fascinated by the human body and her work was featured as part of the British cultural Olympics. Her life size pieces of Olympic athletes, the sprinter, Jason Gardner (The Bath Bullet) & diver, Tom Daley, featured in an exhibition in the departure section of T5, Heathrow as part of an exhibition put on by Bath based 'Art at the Edge' (www.artattheedge.org).
Her piece, The Guardian of the Waves, featured in Tom Hoblyn's award winning garden at Chelsea in 2009. There is a feature article on her in the September issue of the magazine, 'Art of England'. You can access back copies of this great magazine on line, free. www.artofengland.uk.com .
Heather Mackinlay, Watercolourist: www.heathermackinlay.com Heather is a talented watercolourist with an international reputation. Her work reflects her fascination with light in the landscape. I have several of her images and my boys have already ear marked which ones they want .... not sure how to interpret that! I hope it's because they have an eye for a talented painter and not putting me in my coffin before my time!
Roger Day, Sculptor: www.rogerday.talktalk.net
Roger sculpts with chain saws. He has a natural empathy for wood and his work is beautiful. Every garden should have something that is sculpted by Roger.
Angie Sayer, Ceramacist: www.angie-sayer.co.uk
Angie is a ceramacist and a member of the Art Lovers. Based in Ashtead, Angie runs courses for those interested in learning more about the art of ceramics. We had a great evening playing with clay and some of the Art Lovers have gone on to learn more.
Laurie King; Print Maker: http://www.laurieking.co/pages/about
Laurie is a local artist, trained at UCA Epsom. His day job is as a web designer and when that is over, he is exploring the world of print. Laurie's print work is interesting and he has been exhibiting at Ochre in Guildford as well as in the Art Lovers' exhibition - Walk on the Wild Side.
Diana Deikman, painter: http://www.dianadeikman.com/
I met Diana through Linked In and was struck by her images. Diana is located on the West Coast of the US, so Ashtead Art Lovers has now gone global, thanks to the wonders of modern technology. Here is Diana's history in her own words:
I started drawing and painting when I was a child. My father collected modern and contemporary art and encouraged as well as taught me how to use oil paints. To this day the smell of linseed oil and turpentine are beautiful to me, although I now use modern mediums with my oil paints. I have always been highly aware of aesthetics in all areas of my life. Being able to live with original art is a privilege I would like to share with everyone.
I got my BA in Anthropology at The University of California at Berkeley, where I also studied Art History.
I spent two years at the Academy of Art College (now called the Academy of Art University) in San Francisco where I studied figure drawing and anatomy.
I love to paint the figure and portraits, however, I have been focusing on my passion for abstract painting for the past three years.
My other passion is animal and human rights.
Marc Lerude
www.artmajeur.com/fr/artist/lerude
www.marclerude-peintre-sculpteur.fr/ et marc.lerude@sfr.fr
I was contacted by Marc who has thrown his links out into the world in much the same way as people used to throw a message in a bottle into the sea and hoped it would land somewhere. Marc's atelier is situated outside Paris, so not that far away thanks to Eurostar.
Marc's work is very striking.