BELINDA
CROZIER

"My appreciation of art was instilled in me at a very young age. I was fortunate to spend my childhood exposed to the private art collection at Longford Castle in Wiltshire. The likes of Valesquez, Holbein, Van Dyke, Bruegel and many more were my introduction to painting and I spent many years in ignorance as to why I was so mesmerised by them.

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Although I have always spent my time drawing and painting, I didn't start my formal training until my late 30's after raising a family. I completed a Batchelor of Fine Art (honors) and a Masters in Fine Art (distinction} at Bath Spa University. Following on, I felt I wanted to expand my drawing so I sent 3 years training with Johnathan Tetley and at the same time joined the Royal Academy trained Saied Dai's life drawing classes.It was there in these rigorous classes that my life changed.I learned the appreciation of drawing, and through hours of observation I found myself able to fully explore all visual relationships that can be found in the life room and nature.

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I am interested in formal qualities and underlying structures and patterns that occur in the everyday subjects that I paint.

I formulate my ideas and compositions in my study drawings then move on to the medium of oil paint which, because of it's versatility, I can either use thinly or build up with layers, scraping as many times as I need to get the right affect.

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Presently I am working on a series of 20 portraits of the residents that shared a care home with my mother for a year.

I spent every day visiting and getting to know the characters that all have varying degrees of dementia. It was a humbling experience to be a part of that community and I am happy to shine a light on these often forgotten people"