Vanessa Bowman was born in 1970 and the affinity for art seemingly runs in her veins, as both her father and her sister are artists, and she comes from a family with a long-standing artistic tradition. She studied at Winchester School of Art graduating in 1993 with a First Class Honours degree in Printed Textile Design. Whilst at art school Vanessa won the Eileen Bendall and the Sanderson prizes for drawing, and the Daler Rowney Young Artist award - for pastels exhibited in the Mall Galleries - two years running.

Vanessa Bowman seeks inspiration for painting from the sensual qualities of colour and pattern, found in many of her favourite sources - the magical landscape of Italy and its Classical architecture; the kaleidoscope of forms to be found in still life; the markets stalls and bazaars of Istanbul, Venice and Paris; the rich palette of an English garden. All this was instrumental to her acquiring the painterly style that underlies her present day paintings.

Each of Vanessa Bowman still life paintings observes the simple beauty of everyday objects - a moment captured in time. Whether it be a vase of garden flowers, a bowl of lemons (their acid yellow placed against the deep magenta plum), a striped shell - each is placed deliberately within the framework of the painting combining muted subtle colour with jewel-like accents. Similarly her paintings of landscapes observe the pattern and texture of the countryside around her home. Vanessa paints features left by the working of the land, punctuated by seasonal land marks - such as skeletons of trees in winter or hedgerow flowers in summer. Often detailed foregrounds of vibrantly coloured berries or hips, delicate snowdrops or cow parsley lead the eye into an intimate portrait of the Dorset landscape.

Taking inspiration from the Dorset landscape Vanessa revealed to Dorset Magazine, 'I work on board or card using oils but in a way its closer to watercolour because I thin it down quite a lot, she explains. I begin by mapping out the arrangement I want, then I do an overall wash in a neutral colour. When it comes to the actual painting I can move the paint around easily because of the smoothness of the support.'

Each painting at Red Rag is sourced from the Vanessa Bowman artist studio and like all Red Rag British art and Contemporary art it can be shipped worldwide. Red Rag Gallery also promotes art prints by Vanessa Bowman.

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