From Valley to Vale

Or Six go Wild at Slimbridge…….

An exhibition by six local artists at the Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetland Centre.  Varied works, all capturing aspects of  nature and all developed from a passion to appreciate and conserve the landscape and the wildlife within it.  

 Steve Roberts has been illustrating wildlife since he was old enough to hold a pencil.His love of the natural world and his drawing have developed together, giving him a wealth of knowledge about the environment and its wildlife inhabitants. A graduate in graphic design and a successful wildlife illustrator, Steve has combined his illustration, design skills and knowledge of the natural world to provide clients with a complete interpretation design service. As founder of the annual Stroud Festival of Nature, Steve brings local organisations together to celebrate our wildlife 

Artist Joan Gee (Gypsy) paints on canvas, using mixed media, (photographic silk screening – collage, acrylic and pen) and taking her inspiration from nature and the Cotswold countryside she loves. Her art work explores the unusual and nearly always includes animals in unusual settings – their world and ours intermingling.

“ As we have invaded the world of animals, I like to think that, through my art work, I allow them to invade our space” Gypsy.

Katie McCue grew up in Jersey a stone’s throw from the zoo established by Gerald Durrell, which provided her with much inspiration. A Stroud resident now for over 20 years she has exhibited in Ruskin Mill and The Subscription Rooms, tutors at SGS College in Stroud and delivers art workshops in Women’s Centres in the area. 

Katie’s paintings explore themes of transformation, fragility, magic and power with her images of flowers and animals. The work is in acrylic and mainly on canvas.

Artist and classical musician Angie Spencer graduated from the University of Gloucestershire with a BA(Hons) in Fine Art. She exhibits her work around the county, including at Hadfield Fine Art in Sevenhampton, and has held artist residencies in Scarborough and Ballyskelligs, Co. Kerry. She regularly paints out in the landscape in oils as well as in her studio in Stroud. ‘There is no substitute for direct observation of nature with all its changing moods and light. It is an inexhaustible point of reference for the artist’ Angie

Holly Saunders paints colourful oil paintings inspired by the local landscape. Recurring themes in her work are flower meadows,the banks of the river Severn and herbaceous borders. Holly studied Fine Art at Camberwell School of Art and Kingston University. She has had many exhibitions in both Gloucestershire and London and continues to work and teach art in the Stroud area.

Aimee-Jane Hacker (AJ) is a palaeobiologist and scientific illustrator whose art celebrates the natural history in the world around us. AJ’s collection of art explores the beauty of skulls in acrylic, bringing extinct animals back to life in mini prints and birds in detailed pencils. Her passion and scientific interest for fossils and dinosaurs feature predominately throughout her art.
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