City Art Trail and Augmented Reality Experience

01 Profile/

Ann Dowden

Ann is now an artist living and working in Colchester. When she retired she took up water colour painting and enjoys drawing outdoors whatever catches her eye from derelict buildings, trees and boats to rusting tractors and cranes. She is interested in their structure, shapes and colours. How machines work and buildings are constructed has always intrigued her. 

Currently she is producing a series of paintings in acrylics to record the story of the numerous construction developments in Colchester including the impact of the changing landscape of Colchester on local people. 

www.colchesterartsociety.co.uk/ann-dowden-members-gallery

Artwork/

University of Essex over the Years

“On the left of the picture “University of Essex over the Years” is the pathway past the original Hexagon restaurant with its bare concrete walls, which continues to the residential towers. On the right is the staircase leading up to lecture theatres. Above that is the new Silberrad Student Centre. From the start I decided it would be a colourful painting to reflect what the campus has become now, in contrast to the Brutalist style of the original buildings.

Where to find/

37 Queens Street, Colchester, CO1 2PQ

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02 Profile/

Alice Nicholls

Alice Nicholls is a local Colchester artist and also a local business owner in the town centre. Her work focuses on the creation of large scale realism drawings using coloured pencils currently focusing around hands. Alice takes this approach as hands are incredibly expressive and tell an individual’s story and experience. Alice also creates her work with a specific interest into neuroscience and mental health issues focusing these pieces as an expression of Autism developing her own powerful style of drawing.

www.alicetheautist.art

Artwork/

Reaching Hands

Reaching hands is a powerful piece that expresses the artist’s experience of autism. The hands are seen reaching out for one another representing the fragility of those who experience mental health issues and reaching into the community for support and connections together. Through discussions with others in the local area who also were diagnosed with autism later in life the artist and hands see the difficulties everyone suffers and how we can do more to connect through art. The voice that art provides can help those who suffer with social interactions can help to build a bond with others and create a shared identity for both the original artist and the viewer. Alice Nicholls hopes to inspire and encourage other neurodiverse artists to find their voice through art in the future.

Where to find/

Beaux Cheveux unit next to Red Lion Yard, Colchester, CO1 1DX

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03 Profile/

Denisa Mansfield

Denisas’ artwork is known for her exploration of nature, identity and design using impasto techniques with oil paints. Her meaningful work delves into her own interpretation of forms and characteristics of evocative subject matters that relate to her life and her surroundings. Often envisioning her art with a subtle structure and unravelling simplicity in her approach, her art is made through many emotions, ideology and it reflects through the choice of colours and execution. Reproducing familiar visual signs of vibrant and dark colours, passionate and elegant brush strokes and a mixture of blending techniques that are unique to her expressive style of painting, showing a freely varied approach in each piece. 

An oil painter living in Colchester, she is exhibiting in Galleries and Museums around the UK and Internationally. Recently being exhibited in Chelmsford Museum and featured in House and Garden Magazine.

www.denisamansfield.com

Artwork/

Grapevines

A bright and colourful oil on canvas painting depicting field views surrounded by surrealist fauvism trees and vibrant impressionist grapevines. This picturesque landscape is a wonderful way to enjoy the natural scenery that Colchester has to offer. It celebrates local culture, food and live music, supporting local businesses that add soul to society and enrich people’s lives through products that are farmed locally. Full of elegant details and bold textured brush strokes, using techniques that are unique to Mansfields’ style of painting.

Where to find/

Barclays Bank Passage, Colchester, CO1 1HZ

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04 Profile/

Eleanor Church

Eleanor Church is an award-winning filmmaker and photographer. With a background in documentary, investigative and creative filmmaking and photography, she has worked on a whole range of projects, both documentary and commercial, with a particular interest in stories that focus on society, environment, the LGBTIQ+ community, women, human rights, migration and supply chains. The thing that she treasures the most about her work is meeting people and having the privilege to tell their story through pictures and words.

www.larkrisepictures.com

Artwork/

Together, We Dance

Together, We Dance is a film and photo series that tells the story of local dance company, Movement Space. Jonathon Prestney is a professional dancer, his intense career enabled him to tour the world but also led to burnout. In search of respite, Jonathon returned home to Colchester just before the pandemic hit. Going home gave him the time to truly reflect on friends in the LGBTQ+ community he had lost due to suicide. Jonathon felt compelled to share with others how dance had helped him through his darkest days. Defying the odds during the pandemic to create Movement Space, a thriving business and a a supportive community centred around dance.

Where to find/

Lion Walk Shopping Centre, Colchester ,CO1 1LX

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05 Profile/

Ella Blaxill

My artwork is united by a bold use of colour and line. I’ve painted a portrait and ended up wrapping my subject in neon yellow. I’ve drawn a landscape and seen electric blue in the shade of the trees. In this case, I visited Colchester Castle’s museum, found their Roman Face pots and saw colour in their unique and comical expressions. To me, art is a way of translating an individual’s personal experience of the world that goes far beyond words. Colour is one language I use l to express myself, and definite line is the framework I use to capture the infinite possibilities of colours. Intensity of colour and boldness of line bring me joy, of which there is much to be had in the world if only we are able to see it. That is the simple aim of my artwork, to find joy in creating it and to inspire joy in those who see it. 

www.ellaeveblaxill.com

Artwork/

Roman 'Burial Vessels'

Ella’s piece is a fun, colourful design featuring Roman ‘burial vessels’ otherwise known as Roman ‘face pots’. Colchester Castle currently has one of the largest collections of these face pots in Britain. Face pots were largely found at the burial sites and shrines in the western provinces of Roman Britain. They have also been found within the remnants of forts and domestic environments where they were used for commonplace means such as cooking and storage. These Roman face pots would have been hand crafted on pottery wheels which explains the varied shapes, sizes and designs of the vessels, that range from simple smiles to detailed recreations of human heads.

Where to find/

Barclays Bank Passage, Colchester, CO1 1HZ

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06 Profile/

Maria Barnes

As a musician Maria had busked the streets of Colchester for many years, as lockdown kicked and gigs dried up, she began oil painting. Maria is a self-taught multimedia visual artist, who specialises in oil painting. She has a passion for painting faces and landscapes taking any commissions or working piece as an opportunity to learn and improve. Previous work includes celebrity portraits, family commissions, memorials and portraits, local East Anglian scenes and Landscapes from across the world. 

www.marialouiseartworks.com

Artwork/

Damon Albarn

This piece is a lively, bright envisioning of Colchester legend Damon Albarn. Originally best known for his massive influence on Brit pop with his group Blur in the early 90’s. Damon and lead guitarist Graham Coxon first met in Colchester at Stanway school and well the rest is history! Whilst Blur aren’t in the limelight anymore Damon certainly is with his award winning virtual band The Gorillaz. Damon Albarn was a massive influence on the artist Maria Barnes where she used to regularly busk his hits from Blur on the streets of Colchester which is what inspired her to create this oil encapsulation of Damon Albarn and his high energy spirit. 

Where to find/

32 Sir Isaacs Walk, Colchester, CO1 1JJ

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07 Profile/

Shristina Manandhar

Shristina is a self taught fluid artist based in Colchester originally from Nepal. Experimenting with acrylic pouring she works with different fluid techniques to create abstract art. She draws inspiration from the range of colours from dusky sunset evenings, calming movements from the sea and colour tones from intricate flowers. She is also inspired by other fluid artists who use different techniques. Shristina likes how she can take risks when creating art with different colour palettes/ textures and the excitement associated with the end result. 

Artwork/

The River Bed

The River Colne historically helped a host of immigrants, travellers, food and produce to be carried deep into Colchester helping the town grow into the city it is today via its waterways and access to the sea. The river’s name has a Celtic origin with its name combining the two words for rock and river giving the River Colnes name to mean Stony River. Unfortunately in the 1700’s Colchester’s trade and the river itself entered a slump and the navigation was allowed to decay until the lock collapsed. Whilst the river isn’t still used today for any active trade it, the river was widened and deepened with the lock being removed to leave Colchester as a port town, where the river connects through to Mersea Island and is still a beautiful location to follow to the sea and find Mersea’s vibrant beach huts reflecting in the water. 

Where to find/

Barclays Bank Passage, Colchester, CO1 1HZ

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