Victoria Brown

My work is celebratory responding to the breathtaking wonder I feel discovering something I find visually exciting and uplifting. Often this strong response occurs when surrounded by nature but it can happen any moment. Feeding my creativity, my brain processes the complexities; colour, detail of line, shape, light and texture.Over the past ten years I have developed my painting style using oil paints, gold leaf, liquid gold metal and sometimes adding lace or sequins. I enjoy playing with light aiming for an ethereal quality within my paintings, changing day and night, glowing and sparkling when the viewer moves around the painting. My love for gold comes from admiring religious icon paintings and their ability to lift spirits, creating awe and wonder within a space. My interest in pattern and detail has roots in the beautiful lace my family manufactured. This I explored in my project titled ‘Losing Lace' where I researched and documented the Nottingham lace industry and my families connection to it. I created 20 paintings inspired by the beautiful lace patterns found within the old lace pattern books my father gave to me. Recently I have just completed my 'Blossom' project which involved an arts residency at the National Trusts Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire. I explored the transient nature and delicacy of spring blossom from bud to petal fall, celebrating their arrival, connecting to the sense of loss when they disappeared, encouraging the public to sketch alongside me too. The work was also carried out within the city of Derby. I aimed to reconnect people with nature and experience our universal connection to it through my blossom workshops, exhibitions and 'Pop-up Blossom Studios', hopefully one step towards environmentalism. Both projects were supported by the Arts Council England and the National Lottery. Currently I am planning my next big project for 2017.