Christine Bass Art and Illustration: PRIORY HOUSE

Xhibit @ Priory House
14 January to 25 February 2010

work by
Christine Bass

Xhibit is a series of art exhibitions at Priory House – Central Bedfordshire Council’s Offices near Shefford. Central Bedfordshire has a wealth of visual artists and Xhibit is one of the ways that CBC helps to promote their work. The large reception area at Priory House makes it an excellent setting for exhibitions. The current Xhibit is the work of Cheddington artist Christine Bass. The work on show is for sale.

Christine draws inspiration from her environment: the gentle beauty of the Chiltern Hills, views from the Ridgeway, the patterns of fields scored by furrows and bounded by hedgerows, the bare trees of winter, the colours of crops and the seasons. She also draws and paints still lifes, often including flowers for their exuberant colours.

Opening Hours for Priory House: 8.45am – 5.00pm (Mon – Thurs) and 8.45am – 4.30pm (Fri).

There is visitor parking at Priory House and the address is Monks Walk, Chicksands, Shefford, BEDS SG17 5TQ.

For photos of the exhibition, see PRIORY HOUSE: THE EXHIBITION under FORTHCOMING EXHIBITIONS.

MORE ABOUT CHRISTINE AND HER WORK

Christine paints contemporary landscapes, characterised by strong lines and shapes, flattened planes and the use of vibrant colour. She grew up in Trinidad and the bright light and vivid colours of the tropics still exert an influence in her paintings.

She draws inspiration from the countryside where she lives, on the Buckinghamshire border with Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire: the gentle beauty of the Chiltern Hills, views from the Ridgeway, the patterns of fields scored by furrows and bounded by hedgerows, the bare trees of winter, the colours of crops and of the seasons.

Other parts of England feature in her paintings too: the South Coast, Devon, Cornwall, Lincolnshire, Shropshire and the Lake District.

Another aspect of her work is her still life paintings which often include flowers for their exuberant colours and organic shapes.

In her mixed media work, Christine begins by drawing the composition onto board or canvas. Next, she uses tissue to loosely block in areas of colour, relishing the unexpected shapes which emerge from torn edges and overlapping layers. The tissue is glued to the board or canvas. The drawn composition is important to her; when it begins to disappear beneath the layers of tissue, she re-draws it. She then paints in acrylics onto the collage base, focusing on the original drawing but also incorporating many of the shapes which originate from the tissue layer. Her aim is a synthesis between the drawing and the more abstract collage, with the painted layer bringing the two together.

Her background is in illustration and design (First Class BA Honours Degree, Manchester, 1982). Most of her illustrations feature in publications for environment and development organisations (such as IUCN in Geneva and IIED in London).

In 1998, she won the Sunday Times/British Airways Competition to design a tailfin for BA as part of its ‘Global Images’ campaign. Her artwork, inspired by British canal art and titled ‘Grand Union’, decorated BA tailfins and buses for several years.

Christine is a member of the Bucks Art Society, the Visual Images Group and Artists Network Bedfordshire.

Please respect the copyright on all images on this blog!

PRIORY HOUSE

About me

GALLERY

EXHIBITIONS

MY ANNUAL OPEN STUDIO IN NOVEMBER

MY INSTAGRAM

GICLEE PRINTING

LINKS

MORE ABOUT CHRISTINE AND HER WORK