erin ward

"These new works have been inspired by visits to the St Ives area, spending time walking the coastal paths and absorbing the land and seascapes. The coastlines defining this area have been a fascination for me.

I love the areas where the sea meets the land and the rivers. Where salt water meets fresh water. It is neither land nor sea. A fascination of opposites, hard rock against water, the meeting of two extremes.

But it is the light that has really left its mark – the vibrancy of the natural colours and the energy they inspire has seen me change my palette, introducing brighter colours.

A painting usually begins from a memory of the place or a moment. Sometimes just looking at the sky can trigger an idea or a feeling I want to record in paint. The work comes very much from within.

I don't usually work from sketches - just paint straight onto the canvas using my own photos for reference, working fast, using large brushes, rags and sometimes fingers to push the paint around until it forms a response that I'm after. The result is usually a painting full of complex layering, areas built up in impasto combined with thin, glazed areas. Texture and mark making are an important part of my work."

Erin trained at Northumbria University, Newcastle, gaining a BA (Hons) Fine Art: Painting. She has exhibited successfully in the UK and abroad, with work being held in private collections in London, North Yorkshire and Cyprus.

In 2009, Erin was awarded ‘Best Newcomer’ at the Leeds Art Fair.

Erin is an art tutor at Ramsgill Studio, North Yorkshire, and at The Bowery Gallery, Leeds. She is a Committee Member of Leeds Fine Artists Group.

Porthminster Gallery, St Ives has represented Erin exclusively in the southwest, since 2009.