The website of The Belsize Village Association
ARTISTS PAGE - SUBMISSIONS INVITED
I will display, work, weblinks and biographies
Artists can be contacted via me from the contact page
NEW July 2011 Monia Antonioli Photographer
Since a very young age I was captivated by my family’s one and only camera: an old Rolleiflex. I was amazed at how this tool could capture raw human emotions and preserve a moment that would have otherwise remained only in our memories and perhaps fade over time. This instilled the seed of what later became the passion that mainly influenced my path in life.
At University I studied international literature between Italy and France and graduated in Irish Literature and Cinema. During those years I always enjoyed photographing and printing my own images in the University darkroom.
After graduation I relocated to London and worked in the City for several years. This afforded me the ability to travel frequently for business and photography was, once again, my creative outlet and main source of inspiration. Whenever and wherever I travelled, I never failed to bring along three essential items: my passport, my suit and my camera.
Two years later I embarked on once-in-a-lifetime adventure, merging my love of photography with my dream of experiencing life in Africa. My goal was to establish a photographic theme surrounding women’s lives in Kenya which I am still exploring.
I currently live in London where I work as a freelance photographer.
People are still my main source of inspiration.
The Village in Pastels by Cheryl Fraser-Sampson
She has prints on archival paper for sale at £60 each
(size is 14" x 11" including border).
Oliver Chan - Olivers' Village Cafe was named after him
His art is normally displayed there.
Seana Brennan - Artist - Lives and works in Belsize Lane
Seana Brennan was born in London in 1955 and has travelled widely within Europe, the Far East and the United States as well as Africa and Australia. She worked closely with writers and designers in the publishing and graphic design fields from 1975 to 1993. She has two children. In 1998, she embarked on a three-year Fine Art course at The City Lit in Holborn, London. A successful exhibition at the end of the second year at City Lit led her to begin her BA (Hons) Fine Art degree course at the University of Hertfordshire, which she completed, gaining a 2.1, in 2005. She has regularly exhibited her work since 2003.
Maureen Grayson - Artist - lives and works off Belsize Lane
Maureen Grayson’s work is about texture and colour. She uses a variety of materials with which to achieve her highly distinctive images.
“I like to build a series of textured layers upon the canvas. Sometimes I use papers as a painting medium in itself; at other times, I collect natural materials such as fibres, plant matter, sand, and sacking. I blend various materials to create a relief/collage whereby I aim to illustrate, in a tactile way, the surface of the subject I have composed.
My compositions, though abstract in form, are inspired by nature and landscape. I see the main body of my work as organic art in as much as I feel it takes on the appearance of living matter.”
Born in Islington, North London, Maureen Grayson attended Hornsey Art College and also trained for the theatre. She has worked as a freelance textile print designer before concentrating full time as an artist and sculptor.
Maureen has exhibited widely across the UK and her work is in many private collections across Europe and the USA. Most notably, she has exhibited with the Society of Women Artists at the Mall Galleries 2004-07 among a variety of selected shows.
Recent commissions include Latchways plc and Sanya Polescuk Architects.
Diane Umemoto - Artist - lives just off Belsize Road
Diane says: "I'm an American who lived in South and Southeast Asia for 30 years, following my husband who was with Unicef. There I taught literature at universities and English and Social Studies at international high schools, as well as lecturing on Asian art in Bangkok and writing articles on Asian culture. After my husband's retirement, we came to London, where I taught Social Studies at the American School in London for 9 years. Watercolour painting has been my hobby for about 12 years, flourishing in London with the sale of small London scenes. Last year one painting was shown at the open exhibition of the Society of Women Artists. I am represented at Hang-ups Gallery on Boundary Road. "
Dark Glass Art by Seana Bennan
Bolt from the Blue by Maureen Grayson
Cheryl Fraser-Sampson is a new local practicing artist with a Diploma in
Portraiture from Heatherley's School
of Art, Chelsea.
She says; "My style is figurative and commissions are welcome. It can be a picture of your home, a favourite spot in
your garden or indeed anything you would like as a momento. The artwork can be in a variety of mediums such as oils, acrylics, watercolours, as well as drawings in pencil and pastel (I can also do cartoons and caricatures)."