![Miranda Pender](https://d1zdxptf8tk3f9.cloudfront.net/artist_83353/info/medium/MirandaPurple.jpeg?1689426322)
Miranda Pender
Sherborne, Dorset
Contemporary UK-based artist having fun with colour, line, and shape
MessageI have been creating, and selling my artwork through exhibitions and online, for more than 20 years. However, at school I was considered to be hopeless at art! I was born and raised in the east London suburbs and went to a girls’ grammar school where the art teacher was of the trendy opinion that “the art is in the child” and shouldn’t be imposed by an adult. We were given paints, paper, and a subject, and left to get on with it, with little formal teaching. I found this very frustrating, as in my mind I knew what I wanted to draw or paint, but didn’t have the technical competence to achieve it. My marks were consistently C+ and B– , and when was 14 and choosing subjects for ‘O’ Levels , Art was the first subject to be dropped.
Fast forward 25 years and through a university degree and career in marketing, and I was living in a village in Hertfordshire. A local college was offering evening classes, and I signed up for A Taste of Art, aimed at absolute beginners. The tutor was inspirational. Not only did she show us how to use a huge variety of media, but she also introduced us to subjects such as colour theory and perspective, and how to draw lemons that didn’t look like rugby balls. I was thrilled! At last I was beginning to learn how to translate the ideas in my head on to paper or canvas.
Since then I have participated in many courses and workshops, learning from a wide spectrum of different artists, gradually developing my own style and voice.
I live with my husband Mark (who is also an artist) in the lovely old town of Sherborne, Dorset. We welcome visitors to our studio by arrangement. You can see a selection of my work at the Cygnet Gallery in Shaftesbury.
I am also a songwriter and guitar-player, and have recorded two albums of original songs: Petrol Station Flowers and Lifting the Lid. From these, I've devised a series of musical talks with which I entertain groups such as U3A, Women’s Institutes, Probus Clubs etc.
Some recent and forthcoming exhibitions:
· Solo exhibition at The Rotunda, Lyme Regis Museum, February & March 2024
· Blackmore Vale Art Trail, September 2023
· Bruton Art Society 70th Anniversary Exhibition, August 2023
· Sherborne Open, July 2023
· Solo exhibition at The Verwood Hub, July & August 2023
· Bridport ‘Summertide’, July 2023
· St Barbe Open, Lymington, June 2023
· Yeovil Creatives at The Octagon Theatre, March & April 2023
· Sou’-Sou’-West ‘Creative Journey’, February 2023
· Bath Art Fair, February 2023
· Dorset Art Weeks 2022
Statement
My current practice divides into two main parts:
With the 'dazzle paintings' I create stylised representations of my best-loved views in Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire. The emphasis is on simplicity, line and shape, concentrating on expressing the essence of the place rather than painting a realistic reproduction. I love working in bold and intense colour and exploring unusual or quirky interpretations. Acrylic paints are ideal for this as they give good opaque coverage, enabling me to achieve the flat blockiness that works well in this approach. They also allow for experimentation – if a colour or shape isn’t quite right, it’s easy to paint over it!
The cubist-style paintings are a new venture, further exploring colour and shape.
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