Artist Profile - Bronte Woodruff
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Biography
Bronte was born in Surrey and educated in Kent and London. She has been painting since an early age. She worked at a classical concert agency in London and her first husband was an art dealer specializing in 19th and 20th century watercolours. In 1990 Bronte moved to Herefordshire, painting in her spare time while raising her three children. Since 1999 Bronte has devoted most of her time to her two passions; plants and painting. Bronte is greatly involved with the local arts scene, and is a regular exhibitor with the Ludlow Art Society of which she is a member. The strength of her work is exposed by the number of return exhibitions she is asked to do. This year she will be holding her fifth solo exhibition at the Hat Shop in Presteigne. Bronte has taken part in the Herefordshire Open Studios for the last 4 years; in 2007 entertaining nearly 300 visitors.
Artist Statement
Statement, Bronte Woodruff
I am a self taught artist, for which I no longer make apology. I have learned over many years through observation, practice and experiment. I know that my years as a picture dealer in London, in and out of auction houses and galleries, were highly instructive, and I subconsciously soaked up all the widely differing styles.
I have worked in a variety of areas over the past seven years, from fish, fruit and flowers, through cats and cave paintings, but my current overriding preoccupation is with landscape animals. Brought up on a Kentish smallholding, I return more and more to the theme of land; the hills of the Marches, and its dense woodland, are a constant wellspring of inspiration, the human hand notable for its absence.
In my work, I respond to the atmosphere of a wind-blasted hill, the texture of a tree trunk, the wooliness of a moorland sheep. I find it helpful with a new subject to tease out the technicalities of shape and form with sketches from various angles, enabling me to feel its substance subliminally. Once I feel I have grasped this understanding, and my hand can move unselfconsciously, I can then cut out the technicalities and move into a more flowing, liquid translation, informed but not strangled by my earlier observations.
I work chiefly in watercolour, crayon, ink and van Dyck crystals, sometimes alone, often combined. Their different properties of dispersal and merging form a strong element of the light and strength of an image. In particular, the organic quality of van Dyck crystals (burnt walnut husk) lends itself to the earthiness of my rural pictures and serves as a wonderful intensifier to the other media, enhancing the depth of watercolour, and enriching the startling clarity of inks. Using a variety of media enables me to build up layers of colour and texture creating depth with sponging, flicking, spraying and other devices.
Having experienced a country childhood, I feel that while I am rooted in a rural tradition, I am constantly exploring and reviewing my means or expression.My aim is to draw an observer into my world and create a shared experience.