In association with our Shop art display, we have a brand new feature on the blog called ‘Artist in Focus’. Each month we will pick one of the local artists featured in our Shop art display to find out what inspires them and how they create their artworks.

Our first ‘Artist in Focus’ is Patricia George who creates fascinating pieces in a variety of mediums including print, drawing and mixed media collage.

Tell us a little about yourself, how did you become an artist?

My career as an artist has always run in tandem with my career as a qualified teacher. I have a first class combined BA Honours degree in Fine Art and Philosophy and an MA in Area Studies from SOAS. For a number of years I have had the pleasure of teaching Philosophy while working on my own print projects and also being engaged in illustration work for a design company.

What is the inspiration behind your work?

I am inspired by the work of a variety of modern artists including the drawings of Henri Matisse, Henry Moore, Pablo Picasso and Percy Wyndham Lewis. I often produce prints using lino-cut and am very interested in the use of this technique by the Grosvenor School of Art founded in 1925; in particular the prints of Cyril Power and Sybil Andrews. I also gain a wealth of inspiration from visits to museums and galleries as well as through engagement with other artists.

‘Venice’ was inspired by a visit and the overwhelming impression of the city as a ‘shifting space’. The work began as a large pastel and crayon drawing into which I incorporated a lino-cut of gondolas, buildings, photographs and other souvenir ephemera. It is an attempt to convey this mood of shifting space.

‘Hockey Players’ is an example of my interest in portraying movement and is one of 10 lino-cuts where each is unique by virtue of differing colour combinations.

Can you tell us about any projects you are working on?

I am currently working on two projects, a large copper plate etching featuring Frida Kahlo and inspired by the RA Mexican Art Exhibition from 2013 and a print/collage drawing inspired by the Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty Exhibition at the V&A in 2015.

As a local artist what is your favourite Surrey pastime?

I enjoy spending time sketching in the Surrey fields which surround my home. My drawings often include cows and occasionally horses!

Thank you to Patricia for chatting with us! A selection of Patricia George’s work is available to buy from our Shop art display.

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Image credits: Banner image ‘Seated Woman’ by Patricia George © The Lightbox; detail of ‘Venice’ by Patricia George © The Artist; detail of ‘Hockey Players’ by Patricia George © The Artist