Gillian Radcliffe

Expressive work in watercolour and mixed media, seascapes, landscapes and contemporary designs.

Following a career as a freelance ceramic and textile sculptor and teacher, I moved to Derbyshire where I started to paint in watercolour. I love travel and I sketch and photograph my subjects, but complete paintings in the studio, where I find emotion recollected brings greater freedom of expression. Painting for me has a spiritual dimension, and each work is highly personal. A degree in English Literature followed by research on William Blake, a course in arts therapy in education, an interest in Jungian psychology and shamanism, and a lifelong love of music influence the way I approach my painting.
“Your vibrant colours speak the landscape and beyond” is typical of the comments I receive. Having previously worked in oils, I value the translucent quality of watercolour and the challenge it presents, especially when working on a larger scale. To create an illusion of texture I sometimes use a roller over fabric or lace, and I enjoy splattering and using the brush intuitively.
I consider myself privileged to live amid the varied scenery of Derbyshire which has everything from lush green fields to wild moorland. I have been drawn to mountains and deserts in the United States where I lived for two years, and more recently to similar scenery on visits to South America and the Karoo in South Africa. Since my daughter went to live in Munich, I have been inspired to paint the Alps in Austria and Slovenia, and the extraordinary lakes and waterfalls at Plitvice in Croatia. My seascapes have been inspired by places as far apart as Orkney and Cornwall, and the Cape in South Africa. Recently, I have fallen in love with Gialova, an unspoiled village in the Peleponnese, where the sea and the lagoon with its migrating birds is one of the most beautiful places I know. My husband and I return there for a month every year.
I open my studio for the Derbyshire Open Arts weekend and usually have an exhibition during Parwich Open Gardens. My work is permanently displayed in my studio in Parwich in the Peak District National Park, so if my paintings are of interest to you, do please get in touch.